t_J 


OF 

JUN    5    1957 


^ 


THE  MENNONITES 


A  Brief  History  of  Their  Origin  and  Later  Develop- 
ment in  Both  Europe  and  America. 


C.  HENRY  SMITH,  Ph.  D. 

Professor  of  History  in  Bluffton  College. 


MENNONITE  BOOK  CONCERN, 

Berne,  Indiana. 

1920 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2009  with  funding  from 

Princeton  Theological  Seminary  Library 


http://www.archive.org/details/mennonitesbrieOOsmit 


To  My  Wife 
LAURA  IODER  SMITH 

This  Book- 
Is 
Affectionately 
Dedicated 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

Page 
EUROPE 

I.  The    Anabaptists    13 

II.  Menno    Simons    44 

III.  The  Netherlands  61 

IV.  Switzerland    83 

V.  Germany  . 103 

I  1.  Prussia 103 

a.  West    Prussia 103 

b.  East   Prussia  108 

2.  North    Germany    113 

a.  East   Friesland 113 

b.  Lower  German  Rhine 114 

c.  The  Lower  Elbe  , 118 

d.  Holstein    121 

3.  South    Germany    124 

VI.  Austria-Hungary    137 

1.  Moravia    137 

2.  Galicia    145 

VII.  Russia   147 

VIII.  France,    Alsace-Lorraine    186 

AMERICA 

IX.  Early    Settlements    193 

X.  The  Swiss  and  German  Palatines  201 

XI.  Expansion  of  the   Pequea  Settlement  : 211 

XII.  The   Amish    - 214 

XIII.  During  the  Revolutionary  War  226 

XIV.  Ontario   229 

XV.  The   Nineteenth    Century   234 

1.  The    Westward    Expansion    of    the    Pennsylvania    and 
Virginia   Mennonites  234 

2.  A  New  Immigrant  Tide   236 

3.  Church    Divisions    241 

XVI.  The    Immigration   from    Russia    253 

XVII.  The  General  Conference  of  Mennonites  271 

XVIII.  Church  and  State  282 

XIX.  Schools  and  Missions  299 

XX.  Literature  and  Hymnology  310 

XXI.  Doctrine    and    Practise    320 

XXII.  Statistics    333 

XXIII.  Bibliography   335 


TABLE  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


Page 

Thielman    van    Bracht    26 

Menno  Simons   44 

Dirck    Philip    58 

Mennonite    Church,    Sneek,    Holland    64 

Dutch   Mennonite    Mission   Church   in   Java   76 

Ulrich    Steiner    82 

Old   Amman    Homestead    88 

Combined  Parsonage  and  Meeting  House,  Langnau,  Switzerland     96 

Johann    Kipfer    100 

Mennonite    Church,    Montau,    Prussia   104 

Jacob     Mannhardt    1 14 

Berend     Carl     Roosen    124 

Ulrich   Hege   132 

Mennonite    Church    at    Ohrloff,    Russia    178 

Girls'   School    at   Halbstadt,    Russia   178 

Mennonite  Church,  Belfast,  France   186 

Mennonite    Church,    Carlock,    111 216 

Two  Old  Amish  Brethren  of  Lancaster  County,  Pa 220 

Orphans    Home,    Flanagan,    111 222 

Mennonite    Church,    Berne,    Ind 238 

The  Origin  of  Mennonite  Divisions  in  America  242 

Members   The    General    Conference    of    the    Mennonite    Brethren 

in  Christ  249 

Distribution  of  All  Branches  of  Mennonites  in  U.  S.  and  Canada  250 

David   Goerz   252 

The   Bethel   Deaconess   Hospital,   Newton,   Kan 256 

Gretna    Normal    School,    Manitoba    260 

John    H.    Oberholzer    270 

General    Conference    Group,    Beatrice,    Neb 276 

General   Conference   Group,   Eigenheim,   Sask 280 

Administration    Building,    Bluffton    College    286 

Ropp    Hall,   Bluffton    College   286 

Group  of  Young  American  Mennonites  in  Reconstruction  Work, 

France   294 

Clermont    Hill,    Meuse,    France    294 

Old    Wadsworth    School    298 

Bethel   College   302 

German-English    Academy,    Rosthern,    Sask 3C.5 

Standing  Elk  or  Chief  Vohocass  and  Daughter  306 

Old   Mennonite    Mission,    India   308 

John    F.    Funk    312 

Goshen    College    31 S 

Mennonite    Publishing    House,    Scottdale,    Pa 318 

Daniel    Brenneman    324 

Joseph    Stuckey    324 

John  C.   Coffman  324 

Group  of  Students  of  the  Old  Elkhart  Institute  328 


PREFACE 

This  brief  sketch  of  the  Mennonites  has  been  written  at 
the  request  of  the  Educational  Committee  of  the  General  Con- 
ference of  Mennonites  of  North  America.  Although  the  field 
of  Mennonite  History  is  already  covered  by  a  number  of  ex- 
cellent treatises  yet  these  are  written  for  the  most  part  in  the 
German  language,  and  such  as  appear  in  English  cover  only 
a  special  or  limited  field  of  the  subject.  The  recent  war  also 
not  only  added  a  new  chapter  to  Mennonitism,  but  aroused  a 
greater  interest  than  ever  among  the  public  at  large  in  Men- 
nonite principles  and  practices.  Such  is  the  excuse  for  this 
book.  The  aim  of  the  writer  has  been  to  tell  the  entire 
story  briefly  and  impartially,  and  in  as  readable  a  form  as 
possible.  It  is  hoped  that  the  book  may  serve  as  a  convenient 
text  book  in  Mennonite  Colleges  and  schools  and  that  it  may 
also  be  found  useful  as  a  brief  compendium  of  Mennonite  his- 
tory for  the  general  reader.  The  writer  is  indebted  among 
others  to  the  following  men  for  various  courtesies,  such  as  the 
use  of  books,  reading  the  manuscript,  important  information 
and  helpful  suggestions:  H.  H.  Ewert,  Gretna,  Manitoba; 
H.  D.  Penner,  Newton,  Kansas ;  J.  J.  Balzer,  Mountain  Lake, 
Minnesota;  H.  P.  Krehbiel,  Newton,  Kansas;  C.  H.  A.  van 
der  Smissen,  Berne,  Indiana;  John  F.  Funk,  Elkhart,  Indiana; 
J.  G.  Evert,  Hillsboro,  Kansas;  S.  F.  Coffman,  Vineland,  On- 
tario, D.  E.  Harder,  Hillsboro,  Kansas ;  J.  S.  Hartzler,  Go- 
shen, Indiana;  John  Horsch,  Scottdale,  Pennsylvania;  Peter 
Jansen,  Beatrice,  Nebraska;  D.  H.  Richert,  Newton,  Kansas; 
Silas  M.  Grubb,  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania;  S.  K.  Mosiman, 
Bluffton,  Ohio;  J.  H.  Langenwalter,  Bluffton,  Ohio;  J.  K. 
Penner,  Beatrice,  Nebraska;  J.  A.  Huffman,  Bluffton,  Ohio, 
and  J.  R.  Thierstein,  Bluffton,  Ohio. 

C.  HENRY  SMITH, 

Bluffton,  Ohio, 

April  25,  1919. 


EUROPE 


CHAPTER  I 

THE  ANABAPTISTS 
From  1525  to  1535. 

The  Anabaptists  were  a  religious  sect  which  emerged  in 
Middle  Europe  from  the  Zwinglian  and  Lutheran  revolution 
in  the  early  days  of  that  movement.  Both  Zwingli  and  Luther 
at  first  seemed  to  favor  a  more  radical  departure  from  the 
fundamentals  of  the  Catholic  system  and  one  more  in  accord 
with  the  literal  teaching  of  the  New  Testament  than  that 
which  they  finally  adopted.  When  it  became  evident  during 
the  course  of  the  Reformation  that  both  the  great  leaders 
favored  the  retention  of  certain  of  the  essential  principles  of 
the  old  church,  those  who  favored  a  more  radical  and  thorough 
change  began  to  withdraw  from  the  new  movement. 

The  chief  demand  of  the  radicals  was  that  the  new  church 
should  be  an  independent,  voluntary  organization  composed 
of  men  and  women  who,  constrained  by  the  love  of  God  within 
their  hearts,  of  their  own  volition  banded  themselves  together 
for  religious  worship.  Force,  neither  political  nor  ecclesiastic- 
al, could  be  used  to  bring  about  conformity  of  religious  belief 
and  practise.  In  other  words,  they  demanded  separation  of 
Church  and  State,  and  religious  toleration — an  ideal  so  far 
ahead  of  the  times  that  it  is  small  wonder  that  those  in  author- 
ity soon  did  all  in  their  power  to  check  its  further  development. 

This  opposition  first  developed  as  a  radical  tail  of  the 
Zwinglian  movement  in  Zurich.  As  early  as  1521  there  w<is 
some  dissatisfaction  with  the  views  of  Zwingli  among  his  fol- 
lowers. In  the  second  disputation  of  1523  between  Zwingli 
and  his  Catholic  opponents,  Simon  Stumpf,  pastor  of  Hongg 


14  THE  MENNONITES 

and  one  of  the  radicals,  insisted  in  a  dispute  between  the  Cath- 
olics and  Zwinglians  as  to  what  authority  should  decide  re- 
ligious questions,  that  the  spirit  of  God  as  revealed  to  the 
individual  must  decide,  and  that  each  one  must  interpret  the 
Eible  for  himself.  Here  we  have  the  central  truth  of  later 
Anabaptist   teaching,   and   the   germ   of   religious   toleration. 

In  the  meantime,  during  the  following  year  as  Zwingli 
gave  evidence  of  leaning  more  and  more  toward  the  ideal  of 
a  state  church,  several  of  the  leaders  of  the  radicals  frequent- 
ly engaged  him  in  argument  both  privately  and  publicly  in 
favor  of  an  independent  church  and  religious  toleration.  Dur- 
ing the  same  time,  too,  it  became  increasingly  clear  to  these 
leaders  that  infant  baptism  was  the  logical  sign  of  initiation 
into  the  universal  church,  and  that  admission  into  the  volun- 
tary, independent  church  must  be  by  baptism  upon  confes- 
sion of  faith  only.  Perhaps  soon  after  1523  a  group  of  radicals, 
dissatisfied  with  the  half-way  measures  of  Zwingli,  met  reg- 
ularly in  private  homes  for  worship  and  Bible  study  with  a 
view  to  establishing  an  independent  church  according  to  New 
Testament  principles.  Among  the  leaders  of  the  new  move- 
ment were  Conrad  Grebel,  Felix  Manz,  William  Reublin,  and 
George  Blaurock. 

Conrad  Grebel  was  the  son  of  a  patrician  and  member  of 
the  Zurich  Council.  Conrad  was  not  a  clergyman,  but  was 
well  educated  in  the  Universities  of  Vienna  and  Paris.  Up  to 
about  1523  he  was  a  warm  supporter  and  loyal  friend  of  Zwing- 
li's,  and  the  latter  spoke  of  him  as  a  "candid  and  learned 
youth".  But  after  that  the  two  drifted  apart  in  their  views. 
Grebel  objected  to  a  state  church,  and  denied  the  validity  and 
necessity  of  infant  baptism.  The  Bible,  he  said,  must  be  the 
final  authority  on  all  questions  of  religion,  while  the  church 
must  be  organized  upon  the  basis  of  the  early  Apostolic  model. 
Zwingli  accused  Grebel  of  leading  the  opposition  for  personal 
and  selfish  reasons,  but  the  latter's  unswerving  loyalty  to  his 
convictions  and  the  sacrifices  he  made  for  the  new  cause  prove 
the  charge  to  be  false. 


THE  ANABAPTISTS  15 

Felix  Manz,  native  of  Zurich,  a  thorough  scholar,  was  also 
a  staunch  friend  of  Zwingli's  at  first,  but  with  Grebel  began  to 
question  the  Scriptural  grounds  for  infant  baptism  and  a  state 
church.  He  was  associated  with  Grebel  in  nearly  all  the  early- 
events  of  the  movement.  Failing  to  agree  with  Zwingli  after 
1523,  he  preached  in  his  mother's  house  and  in  the  fields.  He 
became  one  of  the  charter  members  of  the  new  organization 
in  1525,  and  the  first  martyr  of  the  new  faith. 

George  Blaurock  had  been  a  monk  at  Chur,  but  before 
1523  he  had  renounced  the  Roman  church  and  had  come  to 
Zurich  to  seek  light  on  the  religious  question  from  Zwingli. 
Failing  to  find  a  satisfactory  answer  to  his  religious  doubts 
from  this  source,  he  cast  his  lot  with  the  radical  party,  and 
was  the  first  to  be  baptized  into  the  new  church  which  came 
into  existence  by  virtue  of  that  act  in  1525. 

William  Reublin  had  been  a  priest  at  Basel,  but  a  serious 
student  of  the  Bible  and  preacher  of  evangelical  truth.  Be- 
cause of  advanced  opinions  he  was  later  driven  to  Wyttekon, 
near  Zurich  where  as  pastor  he  publicly  declared  himself 
against  the  baptism  of  infants.  As  a  result  many  of  his  par- 
ishioners withheld  their  children,  and  were  fined  and  imprison- 
ed with  Reublin  for  the  offence.  Here  he  also  came  into  con- 
tact with  Grebel,  Manz,  and  Blaurock,  by  whom  he  was 
greatly  influenced.  He  was  the  first  of  the  Zurich  priests 
to  marry  after  discarding  the  Roman  traditions.  He  became 
one  of  the  original  members  of  the  radical  organization  and 
for  a  long  time  one  of  its  most  zealous  promoters. 

These  four  men  were  the  most  conspicuous  leaders  in  the 
formative  events  of  the  new  movement.  Among  others  who 
made  valuable  contributions  to  the  cause  were  Hans  Brodli, 
pastor  at  Zollikon,  Simon  Stumpf,  pastor  at  Honng  and  one  of 
the  first  in  1523  to  insist  on  the  rights  of  the  individual  con- 
science, Andreas  Castelberg,  sometimes  called  Andrew  on 
Crutches,  for  he  was  a  cripple,  and  Ludwig  Hetzer. 

As  stated  above,  by  1525  the  central  subject  of  dispute 
between  the  Zwinglians  and  the  radicals  was  infant  baptism. 


16  THE  MENNONITES 

The  Zurich  Council  in  the  interests  of  harmony  ordered  a 
final  disputation  on  January  17,  1525,  with  the  hope  of  settling 
the  question.  In  behalf  of  the  radicals  appeared  all  the  above 
mentioned  leaders  who  maintained  that  baptism  should  not  be 
administered  to  infants,  but  upon  confession  of  faith  only. 
Zwingli,  having  the  support  of  the  civil  authorities,  was  de- 
clared victorious  in  the  debate.  Despairing,  however,  of  con- 
vincing the  radicals  of  the  truth  of  his  views  by  argument,  he 
was  determined  finally  to  try  force.  He  accordingly  persuaded 
the  Council  to  pass  a  decree  on  the  following  day  ordering  all 
the  leaders  to  leave  Zurich,  and  demanding  that  all  children 
should  be  baptized  within  eight  days.  The  latter  demand 
not  being  observed,  it  was  again  decreed  on  February  1,  that 
the  disobedient  be  arrested  and  all  infants  be  baptized  as 
soon  as  born. 

About  this  time,  too,  whether  directly  before  or  after  the 
January  disputation  is  not  quite  certain,  occurred  the  final 
event  which  completely  severed  the  new  party  from  the  Zwing- 
lian  movement  and  branded  them  with  a  name  which  for  a 
long  time  remained  odious  to  them.  This  event  was  the  intro- 
duction of  adult  baptism  upon  confession  of  faith.  At  a  private 
home  at  which  were  gathered  Grebel,  Blaurock,  Brodli,  Manz, 
Hottinger,  Thoman  and  a  number  of  others,  Grebel  taking  the 
initiative  first  baptized  Blaurock,  who  in  turn  baptized  a  num- 
ber of  others.  This  event  is  significant  in  that  it  formally 
launched  the  new  independent  church,  admission  into  which 
was  secured  through  adult  baptism  upon  confession  of  faith. 
The  Zwinglians  soon  spoke  of  the  new  party  derisively  as 
"Wiedertaufer".  The  latter  resented  the  name,  however,  and 
4  spoke  of  themselves  as  "Brethren."  Later  on  they  were  also 
sometimes  called  "Taufer"  (Baptizers)  or  in  Northern  Ger- 
many "Taufgesinnte"  (Baptist-minded).  German  writers  used 
these  terms  wherever  the  Brethren  appeared  in  Middle  Eu- 
rope. In  the  Netherlands  the  term  "Doopsgezinde"  became 
common.  English  writers  spoke  of  them  as  "Anabaptists"  and 
that  is  the  name  that  shall  be  used  in  this  treatise. 


THE  ANABAPTISTS  17 

Rejection  of  infant  baptism  and  the  introduction  of  be- 
lievers' baptism,  however, was  merely  the  outward  distinguish- 
ing mark  of  Anabaptist  doctrine.  Baptism  was  a  mere  sym- 
bol of  initiation  into  an  organization.  Back  of  this  practise 
and  beyond  it  lay  a  whole  system  of  religious  principles.  The 
Zurich  Brethren  had  met  for  sometime  in  private  homes  for 
Bible  study  and  worship.  To  them  the  Bible,  especially  the 
New  Testament,  became  the  sole  source  of  the  faith  and  prac- 
tise of  the  new  organization.  The  Sermon  on  the  Mount  liter- 
ally interpreted  formed  the  basis  of  their  system.  Love  was 
the  ruling  force  in  all  their  relations  one  to  another.  The  church 
was  to  be  a  voluntary  organization.  Political  force  could  not 
dictate  in  matters  of  religious  faith.  The  church  was  to  be  kept 
pure  by  means  of  the  Ban  through  which  fellowship  was  denied 
to  the  unfaithful.  Since  under  the  state  system  the  magistracy 
used  force  both  to  take  life  and  to  maintain  the  state  church, 
no  Christian  could  hold  office.  Tithes  and  church  taxes  were 
inconsistent  with  the  voluntary  church  principle  and  could 
not  be  paid.  The  New  Testament  taught  them  to  love  even 
their  enemies  and  so  it  was  wrong  to  take  life,  not  only  as  an 
individual  but  even  by  military  force  and  judicial  process. 
Jesus  said,  "Swear  not  at  all",  and  so  it  is  forbidden  the  Chris- 
tian to  take  an  oath.  As  in  the  days  of  the  Apostles  there  was 
perhaps  at  first  a  tendency  toward  communism,  and  a  rather 
general  belief  in  the  early  return  of  the  Lord. 

At  first  these  views  may  not  have  been  clearly  formulated, 
and  slight  differences  may  have  existed  among  the  various 
leaders,  but  by  1527  the  Anabaptists  of  Northern  Switzerland 
and  Southern  Germany  met  at  Schleitheim,  near  Schaff- 
hausen,  and  drew  up  the  first  fundamental  doctrines  of  the 
new  movement.  In  seven  articles  they  declared  that,  — 
1  Baptism  must  be  administered  to  believers  only ;  2.  the 
unfaithful  shall  be  excluded  from  the  fellowship  of  their 
brethren  by  means  of  the  Ban ;  3.  the  Lord's  Supper  is  to  be 
regarded  merely  as  a  token  in  remembrance  of  the  suffering 
and  death  of  Jesus ;  4.  the  Christian  must  live  a  life  separated 


18  THE  MENNONITES 

from  the  world;  5.  ministers  shall  be  of  good  report,  shall 
teach,  and  help  members  in  their  spiritual  life,  and  shall  be 
aided  by  the  congregation  when  in  need ;  6.  the  Christian 
cannot  use  the  sword  and  shall  have  no  part  in  civil  govern- 
ment ;  7.  all  swearing  of  oaths  is  forbidden  the  follower  of 
Christ. 

In  the  meantime  a  radical  movement  had  also  broken 
out  in  Saxony  among  the  Germans.  In  some  respects  this 
movement  was  similar  to  the  one  in  Switzerland  just  dis- 
cussed, but  in  others  radically  different.  The  latter  was  pure- 
ly religious  while  the  former  was  largely  political  and  social. 
The  two  were  regarded  as  identical,  however,  by  the  state 
churches,  and  the  participants  of  the  episode  in  Saxony  were 
also  called  Anabaptists,  to  the  great  harm  of  the  reputation  of 
the  Swiss  Brethren.  The  leaders  of  the  German  radicals  were 
Thomas  Miinzer,  Lutheran  pastor  at  Zwickau,  Saxony,  and 
Nicholas  Storch,  a  weaver  of  the  same  town.  About  1522 
these  men  with  others  led  an  opposition  party  to  the  Lutheran 
state  church  and  demanded  an  independent  organization. 
They  attacked  the  corruption  of  both  the  Catholic  and  Luth- 
eran churches.  They  also  rejected  infant  baptism,  but  Miin- 
zer was  never  rebaptized,  nor  did  he  administer  the  rite  to 
any  of  his  followers.  In  his  earlier  years  Storch  rejected 
the  oath,  magistracy  and  warfare,  but  later  evidently  changed 
his  views.  Both  laid  great  stress  upon  inner  revelations  and 
considered  themselves  prophets  sent  of  God  to  right  the  times, 
for  which  reason  they  were  called  the  "Zwickau  Prophets". 

Like  many  of  the  enthusiasts  of  that  day  they  pretended 
to  make  the  primitive  church  and  especially  certain  portions 
of  the  Old  Testament  and  Revelation  the  basis  of  their  new 
system.  Miinzer  attacked  the  foundations  of  the  State  as 
well  as  the  Church  and  taught  revolutionary  doctrines  dan- 
gerous to  both.  Because  the  princes  stand  against  the  "true 
faith  and  natural  rights  of  man,  they  must  be  strangled  as 
dogs"  he  said.  He  traveled  extensively  through  South  Ger- 
many and  sympathized  strongly   with  the  peasants   in  their 


THE  ANABAPTISTS  19 

struggle  for  greater  social  and  economic  freedom.  When 
the  Peasants'  Revolt  broke  out  he  became  one  of  the  leaders 
of  that  movement.  He  was  captured  at  the  battle  of  Franken- 
hausen   in   1525   and   was  shortly  afterwards   executed. 

What  was  the  relation  of  the  Zwickau  to  the  Zurich 
movement?  Both  were  called  Anabaptist,  and  the  opponents 
of  the  Swiss  Brethren  took  little  trouble  to  differentiate  be- 
tween them.  It  is  true  that  in  the  early  stages  of  the  Zwickau 
development  before  Miinzer  had  entered  upon  his  radical 
program  of  political  reform,  Grebel  and  other  Swiss  leaders 
had  written  him  a  sympathetic  letter,  hoping  to  find  him 
a  kindred  spirit.  But  when  Miinzer  attempted  to  secure  re- 
form by  means  of  force,  they  repudiated  all  connection  with 
him.  The  two  movements  were  entirely  different  in  spirit 
and  method,  and  essential  aims.  They  should  not  be  confused. 
But  to  return  to  Zurich.  Zwingli,  as  we  saw,  determined 
to  force  all  into  his  state  system,  and  to  this  end  he  persuaded 
the  Zurich  Council  to  give  the  Anabaptists  little  quarter. 
"Devils  in  the  guise  of  angels  of  light",  he  called  them.  The 
Council  lent  a  willing  ear  to  his  mad  tirades,  and  passed 
mandate  after  mandate  each  more  severe  than  the  preceding 
with  the  view  of  utterly  crushing  out  the  movement,  which 
they  considered  dangerous  to  the  permanency  of  the  estab- 
lished institution.  Citizens  within  the  Canton  of  Zurich  who 
were  baptized  were  to  be  punished  by  a  fine,  while  those 
from  outside  the  Canton  were  to  be  ordered  out.  March  7, 
1526,  it  was  ordered  that  those  who  insisted  on  disobeying 
the  mandates  of  the  Council  were  to  be  imprisoned  for  life 
on  a  bread-and-water  diet  "until  they  rot".  No  one  was  to 
give  shelter  or  food  to  the  Anabaptists.  Grebel  and  Manz 
declared  that  they  would  rather  die  than  give  up  their  faith, 
a  declaration  which  they  soon  were  able  to  put  to  the  test. 
All  over  Zurich  and  in  other  Cantons  as  well  as  other  coun- 
tries to  which  the  Anabaptist  doctrine  had  been  carried  large 
numbers  were  imprisoned.  Finally  the  death  penalty  was 
decreed   in    Zurich    for   those   who   would   not   give   up    their 


20  THE  MENNONITES 

faith.  Felix  Manz  was  the  first  martyr.  After  spending  two 
years  in  various  parts  of  Switzerland,  preaching  and  estab- 
lishing new  congregations  he  was  finally  apprehended  and  at 
Zurich  in  January,  1527,  was  condemned  to  death  by  drown- 
ing. The  decree  was  immediately  executed.  As  Manz  with 
his  hands  tied  over  his  knees,  a  stick  inserted  in  between, 
was  rowed  down  the  Limmat  by  his  executioner,  and  accom- 
panied by  a  Reformed  clergyman  who  to  the  last  attempted 
to  secure  his  recantation,  his  mother  and  brother  standing  on 
the  banks  nearby  shouted  words  of  encouragement  to  him. 
Just  where  the  Limmat  broadens  into  beautiful  Lake  Zurich 
reflecting  the  deep  blue  sky  above,  and  the  green  hills  on  the 
border,  Manz  uttering  his  last  prayer  "Father,  into  Thy 
hands  I  commit  my  soul"  was  thrown  overboard  and  dis- 
appeared beneath  the  waves — the  first  of  a  long  line  of  mar- 
tyrs who  would  rather  die  than  give  up  their  faith.  From 
now  on  for  over  a  century  Anabaptists  wherever  they  were 
found  were  condemned  to  a  martyr's  grave  by  the  hundreds. 
As  a  result  of  the  Zurich  persecutions  the  movement 
spread  very  rapidly  throughout  Northern  Switzerland  and 
Southern  Germany.  The  simple  message  of  the  Brethren  ap- 
pealed to  the  masses.  The  cause  was  also  aided  by  the  in- 
efficiency and  immorality  of  the  state  Church  clergy.  When 
driven  out  of  Zurich  Grebel  went  to  Schaffhausen,  Brodli  to 
Hallau,  and  Reublin  to  Waldshut,  where  he  baptized  Hub- 
meir  and  his  entire  congregation.  Soon  churches  were  estab- 
lished also  in  Zollikon,  Griiningen,  Appenzell,  St.  Gall,  Bern, 
Argau  and  other  places.  In  St.  Gall  twelve  hundred  were 
baptized  within  a  few  weeks.  Because  of  the  presence  of  so 
many  Anabaptists  the  little  town  was  called  the  "Little  Jer- 
usalem". Three  churches  were  established  in  Appenzell.  By 
1527  there  were  thirty-eight  congregations  in  the  Canton  of 
Zurich  alone  and  nearly  as  many  more  in  Bern.  So  large 
had  the  movement  grown  that  on  August  13,  of  the  same 
year,  a  confederated  Council  of  Bern,  Basel,  Schaffhausen, 
Appenzell,  St.  Gall  and  Chur  was  called  to  discuss  measures 


THE  ANABAPTISTS  21 

for  checking  its  further  growth.  By  1530  all  Northern  Switz- 
erland was  overrun  by  the  new  faith.  But  by  this  time,  too, 
the  movement  had  nearly  run  its  course  in  Switzerland.  Re- 
lentless persecution  had  killed  off  all  the  leaders  and  driven 
the  weaker  ones  back  into  the  Reformed  church,  and  thou- 
sands into  exile,  while  hundreds  had  died  in  prison.  By  1535 
the  congregations  were  few. 

Simultaneously  with  the  growth  in  Switzerland  new  Ana- 
baptist centers  sprang  up  in  South  Germany.  The  most  im- 
portant of  these  was  Augsburg,  which  for  a  few  years  offered 
an  asylum  to  religious  refugees.  A  church  was  established 
here  as  early  as  1526  which  in  the  course  of  a  year  grew  to 
a  membership  of  eleven  hundred.  It  was  here  that  Hans 
Denck,  one  of  the  greatest  leaders,  was  won  to  the  faith,  who 
in  turn  baptized  Hans  Hut,  an  influential  though  not  par- 
ticularly creditable  addition  to  the  cause.  A  number 
of  the  influential  leaders  of  Anabaptism  labored  at  some- 
time or  other  at  this  center.  In  addition  to  the  two 
just  mentioned  may  be  added  the  names  of  Jacob  Gross, 
Eitel  Hans  Langenmantel,  Ludwig  Hetzer,  one  of  the 
founders  of  the  church,  and  Balthasar  Hubmeir.  Here  was 
held  also  August  20,  1527,  a  conference  of  all  the  Anabaptist 
leaders  of  South  Germany,  Moravia  and  Switzerland  for  the 
purpose  of  formulating  and  unifying  all  the  various  differ- 
entiating views  that  were  appearing  among  the  various  lead- 
ers at  this  time.  The  meeting  was  presided  over  by  Hans 
Denck  and  was  called  the  Martyrs'  Synod,  because  within  a 
few  years  most  of  the  attendants  had  been  called  to  a  mar- 
tyr's death.  From  Augsburg  churches  were  established  at 
Munich,  Regensburg,  Passau  and  Salzburg.  By  1530  the 
Augsburg  congregation  had  reached  its  climax. 

Another  important  center  was  Strasburg,  a  church  be- 
ing established  here  also  in  1526.  Among  the  leaders  who 
worked  out  from  here  were  Pilgrim  Marbeck,  Michael  Sattler 
and  Melchior  Hoffman.  For  a  time  the  city  authorities  were 
tolerant   toward   the  Anabaptists,   partly   perhaps   because   it 


22  THE  MENNONITES 

was  the  home  for  a  few  years  (1538 — 1541)  of  John  Calvin 
whose  wife  had  been  the  widow  of  an  Anabaptist.  It  also 
became  the  scene  of  events  connected  with  the  work  of  Hoff- 
man. At  Worms  Jacob  Kautz,  the  Lutheran  preacher,  be- 
came the  leader  of  an  Anabaptist  congregation.  A  number 
of  cities  south  of  Worms  in  the  Palatinate  and  Baden  also 
contained  flourishing  congregations. 

From  these  and  other  centers  congregations  were  estab- 
lished in  many  places  in  Bavaria,  Wurtemberg,  Baden,  Hesse, 
and  the  Palatinate  during  the  few  years  immediately  following 
the  Zurich  movement. 

Sebastian  Franck,  an  old  chronicler  of  that  day,  but  not 
an  Anabaptist,  speaks  of  the  rapid  spread  of  the  Anabaptist 
cause  throughout  Germany  as  follows :  "The  Anabaptist  move- 
ment developed  so  rapidly  that  their  teaching  was  soon  spread 
throughout  the  land,  and  they  soon  gained  a  large  following 
and  baptized  thousands  and  drew  to  themselves  many  worthy 
souls.  For  they  taught  nothing  but  love,  faith,  and  forbear- 
ance. They  showed  themselves  patient  under  much  suffer- 
ing, humble  and  brake  bread  with  one  another  as  an  evidence 
of  unity  and  love.  They  helped  one  another  in  all  their 
tribulations  and  taught  to  have  all  things  in  common  and 
called  one  another  brethren.  They  increased  so  rapidly  that 
the  world  feared  an  uprising,  which  as  I  hear  had  no  justifica- 
tion whatever.  They  were  attacked  in  many  places  with 
great  tyranny,  being  imprisoned,  branded,  tortured  and  ex- 
ecuted with  fire,  water  and  the  sword.  In  a  few  years  large 
numbers  were  put  to  death.  The  names  of  over  two  thou- 
sand are  posted  at  different  places  most  of  whom  were  killed. 
They  died  as  martyrs,  patiently  and  humbly,  enduring  all 
these  persecutions." 

During  the  first  years  so  rapid  was  the  spread  of  the 
movement  that  in  many  places  it  seemed  in  a  fair  way  to 
dispute  with  other  reform  religions  for  the  mastery.  In 
Netherlands  Anabaptists  and  Mennonites  were  the  prevailing 
evangelical  set  for  a  brief  period.  The  prevalence  of    Anabap- 


THE  ANABAPTISTS  23 

tist  doctrines  and  the  fear  that  the  state  churches  had  of  its 
spread  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  almost  every  Confession  of 
Faith  drawn  up  in  the  sixteenth  century  in  England  and  the 
Continent  denounces  them  and  their  distinctive  doctrines. 

Anabaptist  exiles  from  Switzerland  soon  found  their 
way  also  to  Catholic  Austria.  As  early  as  1525  a  congrega- 
tion was  found  in  Steyer  in  Upper  Austria.  Churches  were 
also  soon  established  in  Linz  and  Freistadt.  In  1527  a  num- 
ber of  Anabaptists  were  imprisoned  in  the  castle  of  Passau 
where  they  composed  a  number  of  hymns  later  collected  in 
the  "Ausbund",  the  song  book  which  became  popular  in 
South  Germany  and  Switzerland  for  many  years.  In  the 
same  year  Hans  Hut  made  Upper  Austria  the  scene  of  his 
activities  for  a  while. 

In  Tyrol  also  churches  were  founded  equally  as  early. 
In  1527  a  number  of  Anabaptists  were  apprehended  at  Kitz- 
buhl,  sixty-eight  of  whom  were  executed.  In  spite  of  persecu- 
tion, however,  the  movement  spread  rapidly  for  a  few  years. 
Congregations  sprang  up  at  Brixon,  Klausen  and  Bozen  along 
the  Adige,  and  in  a  number  of  places  in  the  Inn  valley.  In 
1529  Blaurock  came  from  Switzerland.  Relentless  persecu- 
tion on  the  part  of  the  Catholic  authorities,  however,  succeed- 
ed in  completely  rooting  out  the  faith  in  Tyrol.  Most  of 
those  who  escaped  the  death  sentence  found  their  way  to 
Moravia. 

Moravia  for  a  number  of  years  served  as  an  asylum  for 
the  persecuted  of  other  lands,  and  refugees  from  Switzer- 
land, Tyrol,  South  Germany,  and  Upper  Austria  came  here  in 
large  numbers  during  the  first  years  of  Anabaptist  develop- 
ment. It  had  been  the  scene  of  early  evangelical  movements, 
and  many  of  the  nobility  were  tolerant  toward  well-behaved, 
industrious  immigrants.  Moravia  had  just  come  under  the 
Hapsburg  rule,  and  the  emperor  did  not  dare  to  interfere 
too  early  with  the  rights  of  his  newly  acquired  subjects.  John 
and  Leonhard  Liechtenstein  were  among  the  most  influential 
and  tolerant  of  these  nobles.     These  gladly   received   Hub- 


24  THE  MENNONITES 

meir,  the  first  of  the  Anabaptist  apostles,  in  1526,  when  a  large 
church  was  established  at  Nicholsburg.  Under  the  influence 
of  Hubmeir's  zeal  from  six  to  twelve  thousand,  it  is  said, 
submitted  to  believers'  baptism  within  the  first  year,  including 
the  two  noblemen  themselves.  Congregations  were  establish- 
ed at  Brunn,  Znaim,  Auspitz  Austerlitz  and  other  centers.  Un- 
fortunately while  the  Moravian  Anabaptists  enjoyed  toleration 
from  the  outside  they  fell  to  quarreling  among  themselves. 
Under  the  leadership  of  strong-minded  men  who  had  held 
marked  views  of  their  own  on  many  questions,  such  men  as 
Hubmeir,  Hut,  Weideman,  Spittlemeir,  Reublin  and  Huter, 
a  number  of  divisions  occurred.  By  about  1533,  however,  Ja- 
cob Huter  attained  the  leadership  of  the  largest  element, 
whom  he  organized  into  a  communistic  body  later  called  after 
him  Huterites.  It  is  said  by  some  authorities  that  during  the 
period  of  their  greatest  prosperity  near  the  close  of  the  six- 
teenth century,  they  numbered  some  seventy  thousand,  a  num- 
ber undoubtedly  greatly  exaggerated.  Another  estimate  of 
twenty  thousand  is  undoubtedly  much  nearer  the  truth.  Of 
the  history  of  the  Huterites  after  1535  more  is  told  elsewhere. 

In  Northwestern  Germany,  Julich-Cleve  and  Westphalia 
became  the  centers  of  Anabaptist  activity.  A  congregation  of 
seven  hundred  was  soon  established  at  Cologne,  and  soon  al- 
most every  city  along  the  Lower  Rhine  had  an  Anabaptist 
congregation.  Who  the  first  members  of  the  faith  were  in 
this  region  it  is  not  possible  to  tell,  but  from  1530  to  1533 
Melchior  Hoffman  became  the  leading  spirit  throughout  North- 
western Germany  and  the  Netherlands.  Among  those  whom 
he  ordained  to  help  him  was  Jan  Matthys  who  with  John  of 
Leyden  became  responsible  for  the  Miinster  affair.  Dirck  and 
Obbe  Philip,  and  David  Joris  also  became  leaders  of  a  health- 
ier type  of  Anabaptism  than  that  preached  by  Hoffman 
and  his  immediate  followers. 

Meanwhile  persecutions  continued  apace.  State  govern- 
ments and  established  churches-Zwinglian,  Lutheran  and  Ro- 
man Catholic  put  forth  their  best  efforts  to  completely  de- 


THE  ANABAPTISTS  25 

stroy  the  new  doctrine.  The  Peasant's  Revolt  made  the  state 
Governments  suspicious  of  any  people's  movement,  and  the 
refusal  of  the  Anabaptists  to  take  an  oath  and  enter  military 
service  was  interpreted  as  an  act  hostile  to  the  Government. 
An  independent  church  on  the  other  hand  did  not  promise 
any  fat  jobs  to  a  ruling  ecclesiastical  hierarchy.  During  the 
first  ten  years  of  the  history  of  Anabaptism  thousands  of 
men,  women  and  children  were  drowned,  burned  or  put  to  the 
sword.  Sebastian  Franck  estimates  that  six  hundred  perish- 
ed at  Ensisheim,  the  seat  of  government  of  Southwestern 
Austria.  Another  authority  declares  that  from  1525  to  1530 
over  one  thousand  were  slain  in  Tyrol  alone.  In  Linz  seven- 
ty-three were  executed  within  six  weeks.  In  the  Palatinate 
at  least  three  hundred  and  fifty  were  accounted  for.  During 
the  first  five  years  it  is  estimated  that  in  all  at  least  two 
thousand  went  to  a  martyr's  death. 

Germany  consisted  at  this  time  of  over  three  hundred  in- 
dependent, self-governing  political  units  held  together  by  a 
weak  imperial  government  which  could  advise  but  not  com- 
mand. Consequently  it  frequently  happened  that  while  Ana- 
baptists were  being  driven  out  of  one  country  they  were  tol- 
erated in  another.  This  accounts  for  much  of  their  wander- 
ing during  the  early  years.  Hesse,  Moravia  and  Strasburg 
were  especially  tolerant  during  the  early  years  of  these  per- 
secutions. By  1531  after  thousands  had  been  executed  in 
almost  every  land  where  Anabaptists  were  found,  the  Duke 
of  Hesse  could  boast  that  not  a  single  person  had  as  yet 
lost  his  life  in  his  dominion,  although  all  the  princes  of  the 
Empire  had  been  ordered  by  the  Imperial  Diet  of  Speyer  in 
1529  to  kill  with  fire,  water  and  sword  all  Anabaptists — men, 
women  and  children. 

The  common  people  often  sympathized  with  the  per- 
secuted so  that  the  authorities  were  forced  to  penalize  the 
feeding  and  sheltering  of  Anabaptists  and  to  offer  rewards 
for  their  betrayal,  high  rewards  being  promised  especially  for 
the  leaders.     The  passions  of  the  people  were   appealed  to 


26  THE  MENNONITES 

by  false  accusations.  At  Salzburg  it  was  said  that  they  had 
plotted  the  assassination  of  all  the  clergy.  The  defence  of 
non-resistance  made  by  one  of  the  Anabaptist  leaders  even 
in  the  case  of  the  expected  Turkish  invasion  was  twisted  into 
a  threat  that  the  Anabaptists  would  join  the  Turks  against 
their  own  countrymen. 

The  usual  method  of  execution  was  burning  at  the  stake, 
though  drowning  was  also  common,  especially  in  the  case 
of  women,  and  many  were  also  executed  by  the  sword.  One 
chronicler  tells  of  the  case  of  a  beautiful  young  girl  of  sixteen 
whose  youth  and  innocence  had  excited  the  compassion  of 
those  who  witnessed  her  trial.  She  refused  to  recant  where- 
upon the  executioner  fastened  her  hands  to  her  side  and 
held  her  head  under  the  water  in  a  horse  trough,  keeping  her 
in  that  position  until  she  was  suffocated.  Her  body  was  then 
taken  away  to  be  burned.  In  Swabia  in  1528  four  hundred 
horsemen  scoured  the  country  literally  chasing  the  Anabap- 
tists out  of  the  land.  The  limit  of  cold-blooded  cruelty  was 
perhaps  reached  in  the  order  of  Duke  William  of  Bavaria  to 
behead  those  who  recanted,  and  to  burn  those  who  remain- 
ed steadfast. 

This  relentless  persecution  resulted  in  rooting  out  the 
movement  in  many  countries  within  a  few  years.  Cornelius, 
a  reliable  Catholic  historian,  pays  these  martyrs  this  tribute: 

"The  blood  of  these  poor  people  flowed  like  water.  But 
hundreds  of  them  of  all  ages  and  both  sexes  suffered  the 
pangs  of  torture  without  a  murmur,  refusing  to  redeem  their 
lives  by  recanting,  and  went  to  the  place  of  execution  with 
joy  and  singing  psalms." 

Of  course  it  is  not  to  be  expected  that  a  movement  which 
.spread  so  rapidly  and  which  was  subject  to  so  many  local 
modifying  influences  would  always  be  able  to  keep  itself  pure 
from  objectionable  doctrines  and  practises.  Anabaptism  was 
above  all  extremely  individualistic,  and  in  the  course  of  its 
brief  period  of  rapid  expansion  it  manifested  a  variety  of 
tendencies    in    keeping   with    the    spirit    and    opinions    of    its 


Thielman  van  Bracht,  Compiler  of  Martyrs'  Mirror. 


THE  ANABAPTISTS  27 

chief  leaders.  It  is  impossible  to  name  all  these  leaders  here, 
but  in  addition  to  the  Swiss  pioneers  already  mentioned  the 
following  were  most  responsible  for  the  various  tendencies 
of  the  movement  outside  of  Switzerland :  Michael  Sattler, 
Ludwig  Hetzer,  William  Reublin,  Balthasar  Hubmeir,  Hans 
Denck,  Hans  Hut,  and  Melchior  Hoffman.  Each  of  these 
stamped  his  own  personality  upon  that  part  of  the  movement 
which  came  under  his  special  influence,  and  each  modified  the 
interpretations  of  its  chief  doctrines  to  suit  his  own  particular 
point  of  view.  Upon  fundamentals,  however,  most  of  them 
agreed. 

Michael  Sattler,  an  ex-monk,  was  one  of  the  original 
Zurich  Anabaptists.  Driven  from  that  city  in  1525  he  became 
one  of  the  leaders  of  a  church  at  Strasburg,  where  he  soon 
became  an  associate  of  Hetzer  and  Denck.  The  next  year 
also  he  labored  with  Reublin  in  Moravia.  While  engaged  in 
missionary  activity  he  was  apprehended  at  Horb,  and  tried 
at  Rotenburg  where  he  was  ordered  to  be  executed.  The 
court  decreed  that  "he  shall  be  delivered  to  the  executioner 
who  shall  lead  him  to  the  place  of  execution  and  cut  out  his 
tongue,  and  then  throw  him  upon  a  wagon  and  then  tear  his 
body  twice  with  red-hot  tongs,  and  after  he  has  been  brought 
within  the  gate,  he  shall  be  pinched  five  times  in  the  same 
manner".  This  order  was  literally  carried  out  May  21,  1527, 
after  which  he  was  burned  at  the  stake  as  a  heretic.  The 
charges  made  against  Sattler  were  that  he  opposed  belief  in 
the  real  presence,  infant  baptism,  worship  of  Mary  and  the 
saints,  oath,  warfare,  extreme  unction,  communion  of  one 
kind,  and  finally  that  he  "had  left  the  order  and  married  a 
wife".  As  the  chief  author  of  the  Schleitheim  Confession  his 
views  on  fundamental  doctrines  can  be  learned  from  that  doc- 
ument. The  Martyrs'  Mirror  gives  a  vivid  account  of  his 
trial  and  execution,  while  the  Ausbund  contains  a  hymn  de- 
scribing the  same  event.  He  was  one  of  the  most  amiable  and 
pious  of  the  early  leaders.  Even  his  chief,  opponent  spoke 
of  him  as  "a  dear  friend  of  God,  though  an  Anabaptist". 


28  THE  MENNONITES 

Ludwig  Hetzer  was  also  banished  in  1525  as  one  of  the 
original  Zurich  Brethren.  In  Worms,  Strasburg  and  Augs- 
burg he  labored  for  the  cause  with  Sattler  and  Denck.  He 
was  a  good  Hebrew  scholar  and  aided  Denck  in  a  translation 
of  the  Prophetic  books  of  the  Bible.  In  1525  he  wrote  "Evan- 
gelical Cups",  one  of  the  first  pleas  for  prohibition  on  record. 
After  several  years  spent  in  the  interest  of  the  Anabaptist 
cause,  he  was  beheaded  at  Constance  in  1529  on  the  charge  of 
immorality,  which,  however,  was  undoubtedly  merely  a  cloak 
to  cover  the  real  charge,  that  of  Anabaptism. 

William  Reublin,  as  we  saw,  was  also  one  of  the  charter 
members  at  Zurich.  In  1525  we  find  him  at  Waldshut,  just 
across  the  Swiss  border,  where  he  won  Hubmeir  to  the  faith. 
For  the  next  few  years  he  traveled  throughout  South  Ger- 
many and  Switzerland  where  he  met  most  of  the  other  in- 
fluential leaders.  At  Strasburg  he  was  imprisoned  but  again 
released.  In  1529  he  found  his  way  to  Moravia  where  he  soon 
began  the  unhappy  end  of  what  had  promised  earlier  a  very  use- 
ful career.  Arriving  at  Austerlitz  he  opposed  the  communis- 
tic ideas  of  Jacob  Huter,  and  soon  led  one  hundred  and  fifty  of 
the  latter's  followers  to  Auspitz  to  found  a  new  congregation, 
which  endured  many  hardships  for  a  time.  Huter,  however, 
gave  Reublin  little  rest  in  his  new  home.  He  trumped  up 
the  charge  that  Reublin,  in  a  time  of  illness,  Ananias  like, 
had  secreted  forty  florins  of  his  own  money  from  the  common 
fund.  He  suceeded  in  deposing  him  and  installing  another 
leader  of  the  Auspitz  group.  Reublin  now  completely  drops 
out  of  Anabaptist  history  so  far  as  the  records  go.  He  was 
one  of  the  very  few  of  the  early  influential  Anabaptists  to  es- 
cape a  martyr's  death.  Some  say  that  late  in  life,  in  1560,  he 
re-entered  the  Catholic  church. 

Balthasar  Hubmeir,  born  1480,  near  Augsburg,  was  one 
of  the  most  learned  and  influential  of  the  early  Anabaptists. 
A  University  graduate,  he  at  one  time  served  as  a  professor 
in  the  University  of  Ingoldstadt.  He  later  entered  the  priest- 
hood and  at  the  time  of  the  first  break  with   the   Catholic 


THE  ANABAPTISTS  29 

church  became  one  of  Zvvingli's  earliest  supporters,  being 
present  at  the  1523  disputation  to  take  part  in  the  debate 
against  the  Catholic  clergy.  But  coming  into  contact  with 
the  Swiss  Brethren  soon  after,  he  cast  his  lot  with  that  move- 
ment, being  baptized  by  Reublin  on  Easter  day,  1525,  at 
Waldshut,  the  town  where  he  had  held  his  pastorate.  He 
immediately  baptized  sixty  of  his  parishioners  out  of  a  milk 
pail,  brought  in  by  one  of  the  peasants.  Soon  driven  from 
Waldshut  he  visited  most  of  the  South  German  Anabaptist 
centers,  especially  Augsburg  where,  in  1526,  he  baptized  Hans 
Denck,  and  Moravia  where  in  Nicholsburg  he  baptized  the 
noblemen  Hans  and  Leonhard  Liechtenstein.  He  was  a  vol- 
uminous writer,  and  while  at  Nicholsburg  had  many  of  his 
pamphlets  published  upon  the  press  of  Froschauer,  a  Zurich 
refugee.  In  July,  1527,  Hubmeir  was  captured  by  the  Aus- 
trian officials  and  sent  to  Vienna  where  eight  months  later  he 
suffered  martyrdom  at  the  stake  March  10,  1528.  Three  days 
later  his  devoted  wife  was  cast  into  the  Danube.  Hubmeir 
was  one  of  the  most  moderate  of  the  Anabaptists.  Unlike 
some  of  the  radicals  he  opposed  communism.  He  differed 
from  the  majority  of  Anabaptists  in  his  views  regarding  the 
magistracy  and  the  use  of  force.  A  Christian  could  hold  of- 
fice he  maintained  and  might  even  use  force  though  not  for 
the  purpose  of  enforcing  religious  beliefs.  Although  he  was 
not  an  immersionist,  the  modern  Baptists  regard  him  as  the 
only  early  leader  who  represents  most  nearly  the  system  of 
doctrines  and  practises  of  the  Baptists  of  today. 

Hans  Denck  who  was  next  to  Hubmeir  perhaps  the  lead- 
ing Anabaptist  of  his  time,  was  born  in  Bavaria  in  1495.  By 
one  Lutheran  theologian  he  was  called  "The  Anabaptist 
Pope",  by  another  "The  Anabaptist  Apollo".  A  fine  classical 
scholar,  he  served  for  a  time  as  rector  of  a  school  at  Nurem- 
berg. Banished  because  of  radical  thinking,  he  found  his 
way  to  St.  Gall,  where  he  was  greatly  influenced  by  the  Swiss 
Brethren,  although  he  did  not  formally  cast  his  lot  with  them 
until  1526,  when  he  was  baptized  at  Augsburg.     Here  he  be- 


30  THE  MENNONITES 

came  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  movement,  and  attracted 
many  influential  citizens  to  the  church.  Banished  from  here 
he  went  to  Strasburg  and  later  to  Worms,  where  with  Hetzer, 
he  devoted  some  time  to  the  translation  from  the  Hebrew  of 
the  Prophetic  books  of  the  Bible.  He  was  forced  to  leave 
here  also.  After  presiding  at  the  Martyr's  Synod  in  1527  at 
Augsburg  he  became  ill  and  being  discouraged  he  begged  per- 
mission from  his  old  friend  and  teacher,  Oecolampadius,  to 
come  to  Basel.  Seeing  that  his  days  were  numbered,  the 
latter  granted  his  request.  Denck  died  before  the  end  of 
the  year,  at  the  age  of  32. 

Denck  was  an  extensive  writer  and  exerted  wide  influence 
through  his  literary  work.  Early  in  life  he  had  come  under 
the  influence  of  Tauler,  the  mystic,  whose  spirit  exercised  a 
dominating  control  over  his  thinking.  He  did  not  always 
agree  with  his  fellow  Anabaptists  in  fundamental  views.  Be- 
ing a  mystic  he  was  not  a  strict  ceremonialist,  even  doubting 
at  times  the  necessity  of  re-baptism.  It  is  said  that  in  his 
latter  days  he  regretted  having  baptized  anyone.  His  en- 
emies later  made  much  of  the  report  and  called  it  a  recanta- 
tion. So  completely  was  he  dominated  by  the  idea  of  the 
love  and  mercy  of  God  that  he  at  one  time  doubted  whether  God 
would  doom  anyone  to  eternal  punishment.  He  was  also 
sometimes  accused  of  anti-trinitarianism,  but  there  is  little  in 
his  writings  that  could  be  interpreted  so  as  to  substantiate 
the  claim. 

Partly  as  a  result  of  the  severe  persecutions  through 
which  the  Anabaptists  were  passing,  but  more  because  of  the 
teaching  of  certain  fanatics  there  appeared  by  1527,  in  South- 
ern Germany,  the  first  signs  of  those  chiliastic  and  apocalyp- 
tic tendencies  which  within  a  few  years  spread  throughout 
Northwest  Germany,  resulting  in  the  disgraceful  affair  at 
Minister.  This  chiliastic  spirit  first  manifested  itself  in  the 
preaching  of  Hans  Hut. 

Hut  was  a  book-binder  by  trade  and  a  native  of  Franconia. 
He  was  an  early  admirer  of  Miinzer's  and  was   one   of  the 


THE  ANABAPTISTS  31 

captives  at  the  battle  of  Frankenhausen,  but  was  released 
on  the  plea  that  he  accompanied  the  army  merely  as  a  book- 
seller and  not  as  a  fighter.  He  early  manifested  radical  ten- 
dencies, being  driven  from  his  home  community  in  1524  for 
refusing  to  have  his  child  baptized.  He  did  not  join  the 
Anabaptists,  however,  until  1526,  when  he  was  baptized  by 
Hans  Denck  at  Augsburg.  Possessing  a  strong  personality 
and  being  an  enthusiastic  worker  he  gained  many  converts 
on  his  preaching  tours  through  South  Germany  and  Moravia. 
At  this  time,  1527,  the  Council  of  Nuremberg  describes  him 
interestingly  as  follows :  "The  highest  and  most  eminent  per- 
son of  the  Baptists  is  Johannes  Hut,  a  well-informed  and 
clever  fellow  of  tolerably  good  physical  proportions  and  a 
boorish  person  with  light  brown  cropped  hair  and  with  a  pale 
yellow  little  beard.  His  dress  is  gray  and  sometimes  a  black 
riding  coat,  a  broad-brimmed  hat  and  gray  stockings." 

Hut,  undoubtedly  greatly  influenced  by  the  radical  ideas 
of  Miinzer,  was  the  first  of  the  Anabaptists  to  avowedly 
preach  an  aggressive  millenarianism.  Christ  would  soon 
come,  he  said,  and  turn  His  kingdom  over  to  the  elect.  Hut 
was  to  be  His  special  prophet.  When  that  time  came  tem- 
poral rulers  and  priests  would  all  be  put  to  the  sword  by 
the  invading  Turks  to  whom  the  work  of  vengeance  was 
committed.  The  Christian  himself  might  use  the  sword  to 
help  usher  in  the  new  kingdom  when  the  time  came,  but  he 
must  bide  his  time.  In  1527  Hut  actually  gathered  together 
a  number  of  followers  for  the  purpose  of  leading  them  to 
Switzerland  or  Muhlhausen  to  await  the  Turks.  Whitsuntide, 
1528,  was  the  date  set  for  the  advent  of  Christ.  But  before 
that  time  arrived,  he  had  been  imprisoned  at  Augsburg  and 
perished  in  an  attempt  to  escape.  In  most  points  of  belief 
Hut  agreed  with  the  large  body  of  Anabaptists  but  his  chilias- 
tic  doctrines  and  his  near  justification  of  the  use  of  force  to 
establish  the  Millennium  were  doctrines  full  of  dangerous 
possibilities  in  those  trying  times. 

In  the  teaching-  of  Melchior  Hoffman  we  have  the  doc- 


32  THE  MENNONITES 

trines  of  Hut  pushed  one  step  farther  toward  the  ushering  in 
of  the  Millennium.  Hoffman  was  a  Swabian  leather-dresser, 
uneducated  but  well-versed  in  the  contents  of  the  Bible,  espe- 
cially the  Prophetic  books.  As  early  as  1523  we  find  him 
travelling  as  an  agitator  of  advanced  Lutheran  views  through- 
out North  Germany  and  later  in  Denmark,  Netherlands  and 
Sweden,  touring  the  latter  country  in  1524  with  Melchior 
Rinck,  a  disciple  of  Thomas  Miinzer.  Being  an  adept  at  an 
allegorical  interpretation  of  the  Bible,  he  succeeded  in  aston- 
ishing the  unlearned  masses  with  his  supposed  insight  into 
divine  mysteries.  He  is  thought  to  have  embraced  Anabap- 
tism  about  1530,  either  at  Strasburg  or  Emden,  which  latter 
place  became  the  headquarters  for  much  of  his  later  effort.  For 
the  three  years  following  he  became  an  enthusiastic  preacher 
of  Anabaptist  doctrines  as  he  understood  them,  together  with 
a  number  of  personal  views,  foreign  to  the  large  body  of  these 
people.  His  principal  field  of  effort  was  in  North  Germany 
and  Netherlands,  where  he  wielded  large  influence  among 
the  masses.  He  was  imprisoned  in  1533  in  Strasburg  as  a 
preacher  of  dangerous  doctrines,  where  he  died  ten  years  later. 
In  doctrine  Hoffman  agreed  in  the  main  with  the 
large  body  of  peaceful  Anabaptists,  but  like  Hut  differed 
radically  from  them  on  several  fundamental  points.  His  views 
on  the  incarnation  were  all  his  own,  but  similar  to  Menno 
Simon's  later.  His  attitude  toward  civil  government  and  his 
doctrines  regarding  the  Millennium  differed  widely  from  those 
held  by  the  soundly  Biblical  Swiss  and  South  German  Breth- 
ren. By  a  process  of  computation  all  his  own,  Hoffman  had 
calculated  that  the  end  would  come  in  1533,  and  that  Stras- 
burg would  be  the  New  Jerusalem.  He  himself  was  to  be 
the  Elijah,  who  at  the  proper  time  was  to  crown  the  new  king. 
Upon  the  arrival  and  passing  of  the  day  when  the  prophecies 
were  to  be  fulfilled  he  patiently  postponed  the  time  of  ful- 
fillment to  successive  dates  as  occasion  demanded.  In  the 
meantime  he  had  been  cast  into  prison,  an  event  which  he  had 
prophesied,  and  which  for  that  reason  greatly  enhanced  his 


THE  ANABAPTISTS  33 

reputation  as  a  prophet  among  the  masses.  With  the  failure 
of  Strasburg  to  materialize  as  the  home  of  the  elect,  the  be- 
lief began  to  take  root  among  his  followers  that  Munster  in 
Westphalia  was  to  be  the  New  Jerusalem.  Just  what  part 
the  elect  were  to  play  in  bringing  about  the  new  kingdom, 
Hoffman  did  not  explain.  He  did  not  make  an  appeal  for  an 
armed  uprising  as  did  his  successors.  Yet,  he  taught  that 
all  non-believers  must  necessarily  be  destroyed  by  the  sword. 
This  was  dangerous  teaching  and  undoubtedly  helped  to  pave 
the  way  for  the  disaster  which  followed  at  Munster  a  few 
years  later. 

Before  his  imprisonment,  Hoffman  had  appointed  Jan 
Matthys,  a  Harlem  baker,  as  leader  of  his  people  in  East 
Friesland.  Matthys  soon  displayed  a  spirit  of  fanaticism  and 
vindictiveness  against  the  upper  classes,  altogether  absent  in 
the  teaching  of  Hoffman.  Whereas  the  latter  had  merely 
taught  a  passive  interest  in  the  actual  erection  of  the  kingdom 
of  the  elect  which  according  to  Hut  would  be  accomplished 
by  an  invasion  of  the  Turks,  the  former  on  the  other  hand 
preached  that  his  followers  must  themselves  take  up  the 
sword  and  put  the  godless  to  death.  Matthys  was  the  Enoch 
foretold  by  Hoffman.  He  now  sent  out  emissaries  through- 
out Westphalia  and  Netherlands  scattering  broadcast  his  views 
and  inviting  all  to  come  to  Munster  where  the  kingdom  of 
the  elect  was  to  be  established,  and  where  there  would  be  a 
community  of  goods,  brotherly  love,  no  rents,  and  no  mag- 
istracy. Due  to  the  violent  persecutions  which  the  Anabap- 
tists were  undergoing  everywhere  the  times  were  propitious 
for  the  acceptance  of  anything  that  promised  a  haven  of  rest. 
Numerous  recruits  were  won  also  by  the  eloquence  of  these 
apostles.  Among  those  who  were  baptized  wereDirck  andObbe 
Philip  at  Leuwarden  and  David  Joris  of  Delft,  none  of  whom, 
however,  took  part  in  the  orgies  at  Munster.  On  the  con- 
trary they  strove  hard  both  now  and  later  to  guard  the 
original  Anabaptists  from  these  millenarian  fanatics. 

Among  large  numbers  this  new  movement  spread  rapid- 
2 


34  THE  MENNONITES 

ly.  One  error  followed  another  in  quick  succession  until  Jan 
Matthys  and  his  followers  had  nothing  in  common  with  the 
Anabaptists  elsewhere,  except  the  practise  of  rebaptism, 
which  now  meant  nothing  more  to  him  than  a  separation  and 
revolt  from  the  established  order.  The  movement  became 
social  and  political,  as  well  as  religious.  January  13,  1534, 
Matthys  appointed  John  of  Leyden  to  assist  him  in  estab- 
lishing the  kingdom.  Measures  were  now  taken  to  make 
Miinster  the  New  Jerusalem  in  fact.  A  theocratical  govern- 
ment was  soon  inaugurated,  of  which  John  of  Leyden  was 
set  up  as  king.  The  Old  Testament  was  taken  as  a  model  of 
the  new  social  and  religious  order.  Communism  and  polygamy 
were  introduced.  The  original  Anabaptists  in  the  city  were 
either  converted  to  the  new  order  or  driven  out.  All  others, 
too,  had  to  consent  to  rebaptism  or  exile.  In  this  way  the 
whole  city  came  under  the  sway  of  the  new  king. 

In  the  meantime  the  Bishop  of  Miinster  had  led  an  army 
against  the  city.  Early  in  1534  Matthys,  in  an  attempt  to 
raise  the  siege  with  a  small  army,  was  killed.  For  a  whole 
year  now  John  of  Leyden  and  his  subordinates  maintained 
control  of  the  city  by  a  system  of  terrible  cruelty  and  amid 
great  suffering.  All  those  who  dared  protest  against  the  ex- 
isting order  were  summarily  cut  down.  Hundreds  of  men 
and  women  were  slain  in  cold  blood.  Finally  in  1535  the  city 
fell,  and  many  of  those  who  survived  the  swords  of  their 
own  bloody  rulers  were  now  massacred  by  the  victorious 
besiegers.  These  massacres  were  extended  throughout  all 
the  sections  of  the  country  affected  by  the  late  nightmare. 

In  this  brief  sketch  of  Anabaptism  the  term  has  been 
used  in  its  widest  application.  Every  tendency  of  the  move- 
ment has  been  included.  As  has  already  been  indicated,  the 
peaceful  Swiss  Brethren,  the  Zwickau  Prophets,  and  John  of 
Leyden  and  his  fanatical  followers  had  little  affinity  for  one 
another,  and  yet,  in  any  discussion  of  Anabaptism,  all  must  at 
least  be  given  some  consideration,  if  for  no  other  reason  than 
that  they  were  hopelessly  confused  by  the  civil  and  ecclesias- 


THE  ANABAPTISTS  35 

tical  authorities  of  that  day.  They  were  all  separatists  and 
may  have  minimized  the  validity  of  infant  baptism,  but  in 
the  fundamental  doctrines  of  a  voluntary  church  membership 
made  up  of  regenerated  men  and  women  admitted  by  believ- 
ers' baptism,  religious  toleration,  and  non-resistance,  —  all 
fundamental  doctrines  of  the  Swiss  Brethren  and  other  Ana- 
baptists who  later  became  Mennonites,  they  were  essentially 
different.  The  dispute  as  to  whether  all  shall  be  called  Ana- 
baptists is  merely  a  quarrel  as  to  terminology  after  all. 

Neither  must  it  be  supposed  for  a  moment  that  the  Mini- 
ster teachings  and  extravagances  were  approved  by  all  those 
who  bore  the  name  of  Anabaptists.  Those  of  Switzerland, 
South  Germany  and  Moravia  were  unsparing  in  their  con- 
demnation of  the  Miinsterites.  Neither  were  all  of  the  Neth- 
erlands and  Northwest  Germany  swept  into  the  recent  mael- 
strom. Many  retained  their  peaceful,  non-resistant  faith,  and 
wherever  possible  bitterly  denounced  the  fanaticism  of  the 
Miinster  leaders.  Among  the  prominent  leaders  of  the  non-re- 
sistant Anabaptists  in  these  regions  were  Obbe  and  Dirck 
Philip,  brothers  from  Leuwarden,  and  later  from  Emden,  who 
strove  earnestly  to  stem  the  tide  toward  fanaticism.  Menno 
Simons,  also,  who  soon  after  this  cast  his  lot  with  the  Ana- 
baptists and  assumed  the  leadership  of  those  who  remained 
true  to  the  principles  of  the  faith  as  taught  and  practised  by 
the  Swiss  Brethren,  said  some  years  later  with  reference 
to  the  Miinsterites,  "I  can  fearlessly  challenge  anybody,  that 
under  the  broad  canopy  of  Heaven  can  show  and  prove 
that  I  ever  agreed  with  the  Miinsterites  in  regard  to  the  afore- 
mentioned articles ;  for  from  the  beginning  to  the  present  mo- 
ment I  have  opposed  them  with  diligence  and  earnestness  both 
privately  and  publicly,  verbally  and  in  writing,  for  over 
seventeen  years." 

A  small  remnant  of  the  fanatics  survived  the  catastrophe, 
however.  These  were  now  led  by  John  Batenburg,  former 
Burgomaster  of  Steenwijk,  and  became  known  as  Batenburg- 
ers.    There  were,  also,  at  least,  two  other  well-defined  groups 


36  THE  MENNONITES 

of  Anabaptists  in  these  regions  at  this  time,  —  the  Obbenites, 
or  peaceful  Anabaptists,  so-called  after  Obbe  Philip,  their 
most  influential  representative,  and  the  Melchiorites,  followers 
of  Melchior  Hoffman.  It  now  occurred  to  one,  David  Joris,  a 
wise  plan  to  bring  all  these  elements  together.  To  this  end  a 
so-called  synod  was  held  at  Bocholt,  near  Minister,  in  August, 
1536,  for  the  purpose  of  discussing  means  toward  this  end. 
Neither  Batenburg  nor  Obbe  were  present,  though  it  is  likely 
that  representatives  of  all  the  groups  attended.  The  Baten- 
burgers  still  advocated  the  use  of  the  sword  to  bring  about 
the  immediate  inauguration  of  the  kingdom  of  the  saints. 
These  were  opposed  by  the  advocates  of  peaceful  meas- 
ures. Joris  tried  the  role  of  a  compromiser,  and  agreed  with 
Batenburg  that  the  sword  should  be  legitimately  used,  but 
that  the  time  was  not  yet  at  hand  for  the  Millennium.  He 
pleaded  so  eloquently  for  his  views  that  many  of  the  Baten- 
burgers  were  won  to  his  side.  These  formed  a  new  group 
and  were  called  "Joristen"  also  "Davidians".  The  synod  had 
no  other  result. 

The  peaceful  Anabaptists  nearly  all  of  whom  later  be- 
came known  as  Mennonites  suffered  great  harm  and  injustice 
as  a  result  of  the  Miinster  episode.  Political  and  ecclesiastical 
authorities  after  this  took  little  trouble  to  distinguish  between 
the  unobtrusive,  industrious,  law-abiding  and  sober  followers 
of  Grebel,  Sattler,  Hubmeir,  Obbe  Philip  and  Menno  Simons, 
and  the  revolutionary,  chiliastic  and  fanatical  disciples  of 
Matthys  and  John  of  Leyden.  Because  they  agreed  in  re- 
jectirfg  the  validity  of  infant  baptism,  and  although  on  other 
fundamentals  they  differed  as  radically  as  the  poles,  they 
were  usually  classed  together  as  Anabaptists  and  both  equally 
denounced. 

It  will  thus  be  observed  that  when  speaking  of  Anabap- 
tists one  must  keep  in  mind  that  there  were  a  variety  of  sects 
and  parties  all  lumped  together  under  one  name,  which  had 
some  things  in  common,  but  also  many  differences.  The 
peaceful  group  of  evangelical  Christians  with  whom  we  shall 


THE  ANABAPTISTS  37 

be  chiefly  concerned  must  not  be  confused  with  the  unsound 
and  revolutionary  elements  of  the  movement  known  as 
Anabaptism. 

Bullinger,  a  bitter  antagonist  of  Anabaptists  of  all  kinds, 
but  perhaps  a  reliable  witness,  nevertheless,  on  this  point 
names  forty  different  sects  in  his  day  under  the  name  of  Ana- 
baptists. Among  these  are:  1.  The  Apostolic,  who  read  their 
Bibles  literally,  travel  about  without  staff  and  shoes,  and 
carry  no  money.  Some  preach  from  the  housetops  after  the 
literal  Scriptural  injunction,  and  imitate  children  to  enter  the 
kingdom  of  Heaven.  2.  Those  excluded  from  the  World. 
These  have  nothing  in  common  with  the  world.  They  have 
hard  and  fast  rules  for  eating,  drinking  and  sleeping.  They 
discard  everything  common  to  the  rest  of  the  world,  for  they 
must  be  a  peculiar  people.  3.  The  Holy,  Sinless  Baptists. 
These  could  commit  no  sin,  and  omitted  "Forgive  our  sins" 
from  the  Lord's  Prayer.  4.  The  Silent  Brethren.  According 
to  this  group,  preaching  is  of  no  avail,  and  it  is  not  necessary 
for  the  world  to  hear  the  Gospel.  When  asked  respecting 
their  faith,  they  remain  silent,  refusing  to  commit  themselves. 
5.  The  Enthusiasts  are  filled  with  the  spirit  of  prophecy,  see 
visions  and  dream  dreams,  and  believe  in  an  early  return  of 
the  Lord.  6.  The  Free  Brethren  make  the  spiritual  freedom 
a  freedom  of  the  flesh.  They  pay  no  taxes  and  are  opposed 
to  slavery.  They  indulge  in  all  sorts  of  immorality  and  are 
shunned  by  all  other  groups.  7.  Munsterites.  All  others  de- 
spised everything  high  and  exalted,  but  these  aimed  at  power. 
And  so  on  throughout  a  list  of  forty. 

It  is  evident  that  this  list  includes  practically  all  the 
sects  of  the  time  that  opposed  the  state  church  system,  and 
that  all  such  were  likely  called  Anabaptists.  While  it  is  true 
that  these  groups  differed  among  themselves  on  many  points, 
and  perhaps  very  seldom  claimed  spiritual  kinship  among 
one  another,  yet  they  were  similar,  too,  in  certain  character- 
istics, perhaps  similar  enough  to  justify  treating  them  under 
one   heading.     They  at  least  were  all  separatists  and  inde- 


38  THE  MENNONITES 

pendents.  As  separatists  they  agreed  in  such  fundamental 
doctrines  as  adult  baptism,  separation  of  Church  and  State 
(not  the  Munsterites),  a  certain  seclusion  from  the  rest  of  the 
"world",  use  of  the  Ban,  and  other  points.  Even  their  differ- 
ences resulted  from  the  common  attempt  to  follow  closely  the 
teaching-  of  the  Bible  as  each  group  understood  it.  These 
classes,  too,  may  be  regarded  as  the  result  of  over-emphasis 
of  certain  points  of  view  common  more  or  less  to  all.  Per- 
haps we  might  even  say  that  in  most  cases  they  were  not 
classes  at  all,  but  rather  over-emphasis  here  and  there  of  be- 
liefs and  practises  potentially  present  in  all. 

It  is  difficult  to  say  how  many  belonged  to  one  group 
and  how  many  to  another,  but  it  is  fair  to  presume  that  the 
hirge  body,  as  has  already  been  suggested,  were  of  the  peace- 
able, non-resistant  type.  At  any  rate,  soon  after  1535  prac- 
tically all  these  other  groups  and  tendencies  disappeared,  and 
on  the  Continent  only  the  non-resistants  survived.  These  all 
became  known  later  as  Mennonites. 

These  differences  were  to  be  expected.  The  times  were 
out  of  joint.  The  masses  were  adrift,  awaiting  leadership. 
No  wonder  that  ambitious  leaders  were  able  to  impress  their 
own  peculiar  views  upon  the  movement.  We  have  already 
seen  how  such  men  as  Denck,  Hut,  Hoffman  and  Hubmeir, 
to  say  nothing  of  John  of  Leyden.  each  had  their  own  follow- 
ing. Persecution  made  secrecy  necessary  and  a  common  or- 
ganization dangerous.  Each  small  group  was  thus  left  to 
follow  the  bent  of  its  own  Biblical  interpretation  or  fanatical 
impulse.  Neither  was  organization  consistent  with  the  move- 
ment. The  people  had  just  freed  themselves  from  authority 
and  tyranny,  separating  State  and  Church  in  their  religious 
life.  Individual  freedom  to  choose  their  own  religious  faith 
was  the  very  thing  they  were  contending  for. 

Amid  all  this  diversity  of  belief  and  practise,  however, 
the  movement  known  as  Anabaptism,  with  the  exception  of 
the  Munsterites,  especially  in  their  later  stage,  rests  upon 
certain  common  fundamental  propositions. 


THE  ANABAPTISTS  39 

1.  The  Church  is  an  independent,  voluntary  group  of  be- 
lievers banded  together  for  the  purpose  of  worship.  Separa- 
tion of  Church  and  State,  and  religious  toleration  are  logical 
corollaries  of  the  independent  Church. 

2.  Infant  baptism,  the  sign  of  initiation  into  the  universal 
state  church,  has  no  place  in  the  voluntary  institution.  Adult 
baptism  administered  to  believers  must  be  the  initiatory 
symbol. 

3.  The  Bible  is  the  only  guide  of  faith  and  practise.  The 
majority  of  the  Anabaptists  preferred  the  New  Testament  to 
the  Old  as  a  source  of  authority.  The  primitive  Church  espe- 
cially became  the  model  for  all  the  practises  of  the  new 
Church ;  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  quite  literally  interpreted 
furnished  the  program.  Among  some  with  more  fanatical 
tendencies  the  Old  Testament,  especially  the  Prophetic  books, 
were  prized  above  the  New,  and  the  inner  light  or  direct  reve- 
lation from  God  played  a  conspicious  part  as  a  source  of  re- 
ligious faith  and  knowledge. 

4.  The  office  of  magistrate  cannot  be  filled  by  the  Chris- 
tian. Government  is  a  divine  institution  ordained  to  protect 
the  righteous  and  punish  the  wicked.  It  is  made  necessary 
because  of  the  existence  of  the  unrighteous  and  can  be  exer- 
cised only  by  them.  In  other  words  it  is  a  sort  of  a  necessary 
evil.  The  Christian  must  be  obedient  to  his  rulers,  pray  for 
them  and  pay  taxes  to  support  the  Government.  Not  all 
held  quite  this  theory,  however.  Hubmeir  contended  that  a 
Christian  might  be  a  magistrate,  but  could  not  use  his  office  in 
the  interest  of  religious  persecution. 

5.  The  Christian  cannot  take  up  the  sword.  Love  must 
be  the  ruling  force  in  all  social  relations.  It  is  wrong  to  kill 
as  an  individual,  or  by  either  judicial  process  or  military  force. 
Hubmeir,  however,  taught  that  it  was  permissible  to  use  the 
sword  though  not  to  enforce  religious  belief.  Hut  came 
near  teaching  the  necessity  of  force  to  inaugurate  the  king- 
dom of  the  elect. 

6.  Most  of  the  Anabaptist  groups  regarded  themselves 


40  THE  MENNONITES 

as  rather  a  select  people  and  were  inclined  to  live  a  life  se- 
cluded from  the  outside  world. 

7.  Church  discipline  is  to  be  secured  through  the  Ban, 
used  to  exclude  the  disobedient  from  the  rights  and  privileges 
of  membership. 

8.  The  Lord's  Supper  is  to  be  regarded  merely  as  a 
memorial  of  the  death  and  suffering  of  Christ,  and  not  as 
containing  the  Real  Presence. 

9.  It  is  wrong  to  take  an  oath.  Christ  taught  His  dis- 
ciples to  say,  "Yea,  yea;  nay,  nay." 

In  addition  to  these  principles  which  the  large  body  of 
Anabaptists  held  more  or  less  in  common,  there  were  other 
certain  well-defined  tendencies  which  in  spirit  at  least  were 
more  or  less  potentially  present  in  all,  but  upon  which  there 
was  a  greater  divergence  of  opinion  and  practise  than  upon 
the  articles  above  mentioned.  On  the  question  of  community 
of  goods  there  was  much  difference  in  teaching  and  practise. 
Traces  of  a  communistic  leaning  were  common.  The  ex- 
ample of  the  Apostolic  church,  together  with  the  poverty  of  the 
poorer  classes  composing  the  Anabaptist  body,  and  persecu- 
tions,-all  these  conditions  naturally  strengthened  the  tendency 
toward  a  sharing  of  each  other's  possessions.  The  Huter- 
ites  were  out  and  out  communists ;  others,  including  Hub- 
meir  and  Grebel  declared  that  communism  was  not  essential, 
but  that  the  brethren  should  be  willing  to  help  one  another 
in  case  of  need. 

Among  all  there  was  more  or  less  of  a  belief  in  the  early 
return  of  Christ.  Among  the  earlier  Anabaptists  the  hope 
did  not  take  definite  form  as  to  time  and  may  have  been  lit- 
tle more  than  a  pious  opinion,  but  in  the  case  of  Hut  and  Hoff- 
man the  time  was  actually  set,  while  John  of  Leyden  de- 
clared that  the  time  had  arrived,  and  that  he  was  to  be  the 
king  of  the  new  dispensation.  The  common  objection  to  in- 
terest, tithes  and  sometimes  war  taxes,  was  occasionally  ex- 
tended on  the  part  of  the  more  radical  to  all  taxes,  both 
church  and  state. 


THE  ANABAPTISTS  41 

As  we  have  already  seen,  Anabaptist  doctrines  sprang  up 
almost  simultaneously  and  spontaneously  in  Switzerland, 
South  Germany,  Moravia  and  the  Lower  Rhine  country,  show- 
ing thereby  that  the  times  for  such  a  movement  were  ripe. 
Among  the  causes  for  this  rapid  growth  were : 

1.  A  general  interest  among  the  common  people  in  the 
reading  of  the  Bible.  For  a  long  time  the  Bible  had  been  the 
sole  property  of  the  priesthood  and  a  sealed  book  to  the  laity, 
both  because  of  its  rarity  and  because  of  the  unknown  tongue 
in  which  it  was  written.  The  printing  press,  the  most  epoch- 
making  discovery  of  all  time,  made  the  Bible  accessible  to  the 
common  man,  who  could  find  out  now  for  himself  what  its 
contents  were.  Between  1456  and  1518  there  were  printed  no 
less  than  fourteen  editions  of  the  complete  Book  in  the  Ger- 
man language  and  four  in  the  Dutch,  besides  numerous  edi- 
tions of  selected  portions.  Between  1523  and  1531  in  Neth- 
erlands alone  twenty-five  editions  of  Luther's  translation 
were  rendered  into  the  language  of  the  people.  Both  leaders 
and  laity  among  the  Anabaptists  were  well-versed  in  the  con- 
tents of  the  Bible  as  is  shown  in  their  disputations  and  in 
their  public  trials.  They  were  usually  more  familiar  with 
its  contents  than  the  Lutheran  and  Catholic  clergymen,  who 
persecuted  them.  It  is  not  at  all  strange  that  these  common 
people,  unlettered  as  many  of  them  were,  coming  upon  this 
hitherto  sealed  Book,  and  finding  that  it  gave  no  sanction 
for  many  of  the  practises  of  the  state  churches,  should  attempt 
to  interpret  it  literally,  and  reconstruct  their  religious  and  so- 
cial world  upon  the  Apostolic  church  as  a  model.  Under  the 
impetus  of  the  reform  forces  set  free  by  Luther  and  Zwingli 
a  people's  evangelical  movement  made  much  more  rapid  prog- 
ress than  was  possible  in  earlier  similar  movements  before  the 
sixteenth  century. 

2.  The  times  were  favorable  for  the  movement.  The 
masses  were  oppressed  by  landlords  and  church  dignitaries. 
Taxes  and  tithes  and  Feudal  dues  were  extremely  burden- 
some, especially  since  they  were  exacted  by  the  powerful  to 


42  THE  MENNONITES 

maintain  a  political  and  ecclesiastical  system,  in  which  the 
common  people  had  little  faith.  These  were  denied  many 
rights  and  privileges  to  which  nature  entitled  them.  In  the 
example  of  the  early  primitive  church  they  saw  a  remedy  for 
all  their  burdens,  social  and  industrial  as  well  as  religious. 
It  is  not  at  all  strange  that  the  religious  issue  should  become 
complicated  with  political  and  social  questions.  At  any  rate, 
the  hard  lot  of  the  common  man  strengthened  the  appeal 
which  the  new  faith  made  to  him. 

3.  The  soil  was  perhaps  partly  prepared  by  earlier  evan- 
gelical movements.  Waldenses  and  other  sects  more  or  less 
similar  had  existed  in  many  of  the  centers  where  Anabaptism 
now  flourished.  These  sects  held  many  doctrines  and  prac- 
tises in  common  with  the  later  Anabaptists,  and  it  is  alto- 
gether likely  that  they  made  some  contribution  to  the  later 
movement. 

Just  what  relation  these  earlier  sects  bore  to  the  Ana- 
baptists is  a  disputed  question.  There  are  some  writers,  who, 
permitting  their  pious  wishes  to  get  the  better  of  their  his- 
torical judgments,  would  trace  the  Mennonites  back  through 
Anabaptists,  Waldenses  and  various  Medieval  and  Ancient 
evangelical  bodies  to  the  Apostolic  church  itself.  To  the 
present  writer  it  does  not  seem  that  even  the  Waldensian 
connection  is  as  firmly  established  as  the  supporters  of  the 
theory  maintain.  While  it  is  true  that  they  had  many  things 
in  common,  they  also  differed  in  certain  essentials.  The  fact 
that  certain  Anabaptist  centers  had  also  been  Waldensian 
centers  does  not  necessarily  prove  that  the  Anabaptists  were 
merely  made-over  Waldensians.  The  strongest  argument 
against  the  theory  is  the  fact  that  nearly  all  the  leaders  of 
Anabaptism  came  out  of  the  Catholic  church  directly  or  in- 
directly. Such  Waldensian  organizations  as  survived  at  the 
breaking  out  of  the  Reformation  either  maintained  their  iden- 
tity or  united  with  the  new  state  Church.  Few  were  fused 
with  the  Anabaptist  organizations.  The  myth  of  Waldensian 
origin,  although  it  was  held  by  a  number  of  contemporary 


THE  ANABAPTISTS  43 

writers  of  the  Reformation  period,  received  its  greatest  im- 
petus at  the  hands  of  later  Anabaptists  who  hit  upon  it  as  the 
best  reply  to  the  state  Church  leaders  who  insisted  that  all 
Anabaptists  were  Miinsterites. 

While  it  is  altogether  probable,  of  course,  that  the  ear- 
lier movement  had  some  influence  upon  the  latter,  just  how 
much  is  uncertain,  yet,  it  is  equally  certain  that  there  would 
have  been  an  Anabaptist  faith,  even  though  there  never  had 
been  any  Waldensians  or  other  more  or  less  evangelical  sects. 
All  these  bodies  sprang  more  or  less  independently  from  the 
same  source,  namely,  an  intensive  study  by  the  common  man 
of  an  accessible  Bible.  To  this  common  source  one  must  look 
for  an  explanation  of  these  often  striking  similarities  in  faith 
and  practise,  rather  than  to  any  supposed  contributions  that 
various  bodies  may  have  made  to  one  another. 


44  THE  MENNONITES 


CHAPTER  II 


MENNO  SIMONS 


As  we  have  just  seen,  Anabaptists  of  the  peaceful  type 
were  not  wanting  throughout  the  Netherlands  and  North- 
west Germany  during  the  time  mentioned  in  the  preceding 
chapter.  Being  a  quiet,  unobtrusive  people  they  did  not  attract 
much  attention,  however.  Their  leading  men  were  Obbe  and 
Dirck  Philip,  Leonhard  Bouwens  and  Menno  Simons. 

The  exact  year  of  the  birth  of  Menno  Simons  is  still  a 
matter  of  conjecture,  but  most  recent  authorities  are  inclined 
to  accept  the  year  of  1496.  His  birthplace  was  Witmarsum, 
a  small  village  near  the  west  coast  of  Friesland,  one  of  the 
provinces  of  the  Netherlands.  Of  his  parentage  and  early  life  we 
know  very  little,  except  that  he  was  educated  for  the  priesthood, 
and  assumed  the  duties  of  his  office  at  the  age  of  twenty-eight 
in  the  village  of  Pinjum,  near  his  birthplace.  Like  many  of  the 
priests  of  his  day  he  knew  little  of  the  Bible,  and  his  religious 
duties  sat  rather  lightly  upon  him.  Being  endowed  with  an 
open  mind,  however,  and  an  earnest  desire  to  know  the  truth 
he  could  not  long  remain  entirely  oblivious  to  the  revolution- 
ary religious  doctrines  that  were  shaking  the  countries  of 
Middle  Europe  even  to  the  remotest  corners.  We  know  that 
copies  of  Luther's  writings  had  fallen  into  his  hands  at  this 
time.  His  enlightenment  began  one  day  in  the  third  year 
of  his  priesthood.  While  perfunctorily  going  through  the  cere- 
monies of  the  mass  the  thought  suddenly  struck  him  that 
the  bread  and  wine  he  was  handling  could  not  be  the  real 
flesh  and  blood  of  Christ.  Like  Luther  before  him,  he  attrib- 
uted this  suggestion  to  the  devil,  and  prayed  and  confessed, 
but   the   conviction  would   not   leave  him.     He   now  turned 


MENNO   SIMONS,  1496-1561. 


MENNO  SIMON  45 

to  the  New  Testament  for  light,  and  the  more  he  read  the 
more  he  realized  that  the  suggestion  did  not  come  from  the 
evil  one. 

Once  led  to  doubt  the  truth  of  the  prevailing  system,  his 
progress  toward  the  light  was  rapid.  He  now  began  an  earn- 
est study  of  both  the  Bible  and  the  writings  of  Luther  and 
other  reformers.  In  March,  1531,  at  Leuwarden,  the  capital 
city  of  Friesland,  occurred  an  incident,  too,  that  led  to  still 
further  doubts  and  that  turned  his  mind  toward  the  Anabap- 
tists. Sikke  Frerichs,  a  tailor,  was  beheaded  for  having  been 
rebaptized  at  Leuwarden.  This  incident  led  Menno  to  in- 
vestigate the  question  of  infant  baptism.  After  comparing 
the  views  on  this  question  of  the  Catholics  and  also  of  Luther, 
Zwingli,  Bullinger  and  others  with  the  New  Testament  teach- 
ing, he  came  to  the  conclusion  that  all  were  in  error.  Menno 
must  have  come  in  contact  with  the  Anabaptists  of  this  re- 
gion soon  after  this,  but  he  did  not  cast  his  lot  with  them 
for  several  years.  Having  been  promoted  in  the  meantime  to 
a  higher  charge  in  his  native  village,  he  was  unwilling  as 
yet  to  break  with  the  easy  life  that  seemed  to  await  him. 
His  conscience  evidently  was  accusing  him,  however,  of  play- 
ing the  part  of  a  hypocrite;  for  when  in  April,  1535,  a  group 
of  several  hundred  Anabaptists,  who  had  been  tinged  very 
largely  with  Miinsterite  ideas,  and  who  had  taken  refuge  in 
an  old  cloister  near  his  home,  were  killed  in  a  siege  and  the 
survivors  executed,  Menno  was  greatly  disturbed  by  this 
event.  He  was  greatly  moved  by  the  zeal  and  earnestness  of 
these  people,  he  said,  as  contrasted  with  his  own  selfish  life, 
but  on  the  other  hand  he  was  also  concerned  about  the  errors 
into  which  they  had  been  led  by  false  teachers.  The  fact  that 
his  own  brother  was  among  those  that  had  fallen,  undoubted- 
ly strengthened  the  impression  this  event  had  made  upon  his 
mind.  It  was  not  until  nearly  a  year  had  passed,  however, 
that  he  had  the  courage  to  take  the  final  step.  In  January, 
1536,  at  the  age  of  forty,  he  publicly  renounced  the  Cath- 
olic Church. 


46  THE  MENNONITES 

To  come  to  this  decision  required  no  small  degree  of 
physical  and  moral  courage.  Unlike  Luther,  Zwingli  and 
Calvin,  all  of  whom  gained  positions  of  great  power,  comfort 
and  influence  through  their  separation  from  Romanism,  Men- 
no  by  espousing  the  cause  of  the  common  people  and  religious 
freedom  entered  upon  a  career  that  promised  nothing  but 
humiliation,  poverty  and  persecution. 

Almost  immediately  Menno  left  his  home  town  and  cross- 
ed over  to  the  neighboring  province  of  Groningen,  where  late 
in  1536  or  early  in  1537,  he  formally  cast  his  lot  with  the 
peaceful  Anabaptists,  being  baptized  by  Obbe  Philip,  the 
leading  man  in  that  body  in  these  regions  at  that  time.  Rec- 
ognizing his  ability  as  an  organizer,  and  in  view  of  his  early 
training  and  also  in  view  of  the  need  for  leadership,  a  group 
of  Anabaptists  soon  came  to  Menno  urging  him  to  assume 
some  responsibility  in  building  up  the  Anabaptist  cause  in 
Northern  Germany  and  the  Netherlands.  Again  he  hesitated 
knowing  full  well  the  dangers  of  the  work,  and  because,  as  he 
says,  "of  my  limited  talents,  great  lack  of  knowledge,  weak- 
ness of  my  nature,  the  timidity  of  my  flesh,  the  very  great 
wickedness,  wantonness,  perversity  and  tyranny  of  the 
world,  the  mighty  sects,  the  subtlety  of  many  men,  and  the 
indescribably  heavy  cross." 

He  was  persuaded,  however,  and  was  ordained  a  minister 
by  the  same  Obbe  Philip.  For  twenty-five  years  now  he 
worked  amid  many  trials  and  with  very  little  remuneration, 
preaching  the  Gospel,  organizing  new  churches  or  reviving 
old  ones  and  writing  in  defence  of  his  faith. 

For  the  first  seven  years  Menno's  chief  field  of  labor  was 
Groningen  with  occasional  visits  made  under  difficulties  to 
other  Dutch  provinces  where  Anabaptist  congregations  were 
found,  especially  West  Friesland  and  Holland.  His  most 
difficult  work  during  these  years  was  the  fight  against  what 
he  calls  the  "corrupt  sects",  by  which  he  means  undoubtedly 
the  various  groups  of  the  more  or  less  fanatical  Anabaptists 
— Miinsterites,   Batenburgers,   Melchiorites,  and   Davidians — 


MENNO  SIMONS  47 

all  of  which  still  exerted  some  influence  and  especially  en- 
dangered the  purity  of  the  peaceful  group,  at  this  time  called 
Obbenites  after  Obbe  Philip,  their  leader. 

Immediately  upon  his  renunciation  of  Rome,  Menno  be- 
came subject  to  the  rigorous  decrees  then  in  force  against 
the  Anabaptists.  But  soon,  also,  he  was  marked  for  special 
attention.  So  important  a  leader  had  he  become  by  1542  that 
the  Emperor  Charles  V.  in  December  of  that  year  issued  an 
imperial  decree  effective  in  Friesland  offering  a  reward  of 
"one  hundred  golden  Karolus  gulden",  and  all  expenses  and 
full  pardon  in  case  the  betrayer  were  an  Anabaptist,  for  the 
arrest  of  "Minne  Symons".  Everyone  also  was  cautioned  on 
penalty  of  death  not  to  give  him  shelter,  food  or  drink,  or 
have  in  their  possession  any  of  his  books. 

In  most  of  the  decrees  against  Anabaptists  during  these 
times  rewards  and  pardons  were  offered  to  those  who,  be- 
cause of  intimate  association  with  the  intended  victims,  were 
in  a  position  to  deliver  them  to  the  authorities.  These  in- 
ducements occasionally  uncovered  a  Judas.  Somewhat  la- 
ter according  to  the  story  told  by  Menno's  daughter,  an  at- 
tendant at  one  of  Menno's  meetings  agreed  with  the  author- 
ities to  betray  him  for  a  sum  of  money.  Soon  after,  the  be- 
trayer with  an  officer  unexpectedly  met  Menno  passing  by 
in  a  boat,  but  the  would-be  traitor  remained  silent  until 
Menno  had  passed,  and  then  exclaimed,  "The  bird  has  es- 
caped." Upon  being  questioned  by  the  officer  why  he  had 
permitted  the  escape,  he  replied  that  his  tongue  was  bound. 
According  to  the  tradition  the  would-be  betrayer  was  him- 
self beheaded  for  this  act. 

Menno,  who  in  the  meantime  had  been  married,  was  now 
forced  to  leave  Friesland.  He  escaped  across  the  border  into 
East  Friesland  where  under  the  tolerant  Countess  Anne  a 
number  of  exiled  sects  had  already  found  an  asylum.  Here 
while  John  a'Lasco,  an  earlier  Polish  reformer,  was  working 
out  with  the  Countess  the  problem  of  an  established  church, 
the  separatists  were  granted  a  spell  of  toleration.    A  thriving 


48  THE  MENNONITES 

community  of  Anabaptists  under  Obbe  and  Dirck  Philip  had 
been  established  at  Emden,  and  soon  other  congregations 
were  located  at  Leer,  Norden  and  other  places.  Menno  evi- 
dently soon  played  a  leading  role  in  the  Emden  church,  for 
John  a'Lasco  engaged  him  in  a  public  disputation  within 
a  short  time.  But  the  publicity  caused  by  this  debate  made 
it  necessary  that  an  earlier  imperial  decree  against  the  Ana- 
baptists be  now  carried  out.  Both  a'Lasco  and  the  Countess, 
however,  recognized  a  vital  difference  between  the  peace- 
ful followers  of  Menno  and  his  co-laborers  and  the  fanatical 
Batenburgers,  Davidians  and  other  similar  groups.  In  dis- 
criminating in  favor  of  the  former  the  Countess  referred  to 
them  for  the  first  time  now  in  history,  in  1544,  as  Menists, 
who  were  to  be  tolerated,  while  the  fanatical  sects  were  or- 
dered to  leave.  Menno,  however,  also  thought  it  advisable 
that  he  should  leave. 

Throughout  his  evangelistic  career  up  to  the  last  days  of 
his  life  Menno  was  forced  to  carry  on  his  work  amid  great 
difficulties  and  the  constant  dread  of  a  martyr's  stake ;  for  by 
imperial  decree  a  price  was  resting  upon  his  head.  He  es- 
caped only  by  seeking  refuge  among  those  princes  and  rulers 
of  the  three  hundred  or  more  independent  governments  into 
which  the  Empire  was  then  divided,  who  had  not  yet  decided 
upon  the  form  of  a  state  church  for  their  lands,  or,  who  were 
more  tolerant  than  the  spirit  of  their  times.  And  so  Menno 
now  fled,  in  1543,  to  a  group  of  his  co-believers  in  Cologne, 
where  Elector  Herman  van  Wied  at  the  time  was  transforming 
the  former  Archbishopric  into  a  Lutheran  principality.  But  a 
few  years  later,  in  1546,  when  the  Catholics  regained  Cologne, 
Menno  was  again  compelled  to  find  a  new  refuge  for  his  sick 
wife  and  children.  He  went  to  Holstein  and  we  soon  find 
him  in'  Wismar  in  Mecklenburg,  where  he  is  secretly  tolera- 
ted by  the  Lutheran  magistrates  of  the  city  until  1555,  when 
the  Hanseatic  league  of  which  Wismar  was  a  member,  is- 
sued a  stringent  order  against  Anabaptists,  and  Menno  was 
compelled  to  find  another  hiding  place  —  his  last. 


MENNO  SIMONS  49 

There  was  a  small  church  at  Wismar  made  up  principal- 
ly of  refugees,  who  were  tolerated,  but  were  obliged  to  carry- 
on  their  worship  very  quietly.  From  here  Menno  travelled 
extensively  along  the  East  Sea  region  reaching  Livonia  and 
Gothland  in  his  tours  .  He  also  had  a  printing  press  here, 
on  which  he  printed  a  number  of  his  controversial  pamphlets. 
Although  Menno  and  his  followers  were  often  tolerated  by 
the  municipal  and  state  authorities,  the  theologians  hated 
them  heartily.  At  Wismar  it  is  said  one  Lutheran  preacher 
denounced  Menno  so  vehemently  one  day  in  the  pulpit  that 
he  dropped  over  from  apoplexy.  Another  well-known  theo- 
logian said  he  "would  rather  have  a  hat  full  of  Menno's 
blood  than  a  hat  full  of  gold". 

Menno  Simons'  last  refuge  was  at  Wuestenfelde  in  the 
county  of  Fresenburg  between  Liibeck  and  Hamburg,  ruled 
by  the  nobleman  Bartholomew  von  Ahlefeld,  who  protected 
Menno  for  the  remaining  six  years  of  his  life.  Here  he  spent 
his  declining  years,  writing  and  publishing  his  treatises  on 
his  own  printing  press,  and  travelling  to  the  very  end  in 
the  interests  of  the  cause  he  loved  so  well. 

Not  only  was  a  price  fixed  on  his  head  by  imperial  de- 
cree, but  it  was  ordered  that  no  one  under  penalty  of  death 
was  to  give  him  aid  in  any  form.  During  the  first  year  of 
his  ministry,  in  1536,  two  men  were  arrested  in  Friesland  for 
giving  him  shelter,  but  escaped  the  death  penalty,  which 
was  the  punishment  for  such  an  act  of  hospitality,  perhaps 
because  it  turned  out  that  Menno  had  not  been  baptized  at 
the  time.  In  1539,  however,  a  man  was  tortured  and  executed 
for  a  like  offence. 

In  matters  of  doctrine  Menno  agreed  in  the  main  with 
the  teachings  of  the  Swiss  Brethren  and  other  peaceful  Ana- 
baptists. The  true  church,  he  insisted,  must  be  composed 
of  those  of  a  regenerated  heart.  In  his  treatise,  "The  New 
Birth",  he  says : 

"Behold,  worthy  reader,  all  those  who  are  born  of  God 
with  Christ  who  thus  conform  their  weak  life  to  the  Gospel, 


50  THE  MENNONITES 

are  thus  converted,  and  follow  the  example  of  Christ,  hear 
and  believe  His  holy  Word,  follow  His  commands  which  He 
in  plain  words  commanded  us  in  the  Holy  Scriptures,  for  the 
Holy  Christian  Church  which  has  the  promise." 

Infant  baptism,  he  says,  "is  a  self-begotten  rite  and 
human  righteousness ;  for  in  all  the  New  Testament  there 
is  not  a  word  or  command  about  baptizing  infants,  by  Christ 
nor  by  the  Apostles." 

In  speaking  of  the  true  Christians,  "the  regenerated  who 
have  a  spiritual  king  over  them",  he  continues, 

"They  are  the  children  of  peace,  who  have  beaten 
their  swords  into  plowshares  and  their  spears  into  pruning 
hooks,  and  know  no  war." 

The  Lord's  Supper 

"They  celebrate  in  rememberance  of  the  favors  and 
death  of  their  Lord,  and  in  reminding  one  another  of  true 
and  brotherly  love." 

The  Ban 

"extends  to  all  the  proud  scorners  great  and  small, 
rich  and  poor,  without  any  respect  to  person,  who  heard  and 
obeyed  the  Word  for  a  season  but  have  fallen  off  again,  and 
i."  the  house  of  the  Lord  teach  or  live  offensively,  till  they 
again  sincerely  repent." 

On  civil  government  he  writes, 

"We  now  publicly  confess  that  the  office  of  the 
Magistrate  is  ordained  of  God  as  we  have  ever  confessed, 
since  we  serve  according  to  our  small  talent  the  Word  of 
the  Lord,  and  in  the  meantime  we  have  ever  obeyed  them 
when  not  contrary  to  the  Word  of  God  and  we  intend  to  do 
so  all  our  lives,  for  we  are  not  so  stupid  as  not  to  know  what 
the  Lord's  Word  commands  in  this  respect.  We  'render  unto 
Caesar  the  things  which  are  Caesar's'  as  Christ  teaches  (Matt. 
22:21).  We  pray  for  the  imperial  majesty,  kings,  lords,  princes 
and  all  in  authority,  honor  and  obey  them." 

Menno's   views   on   such   other   fundamental    Anabaptist 


MENNO  SIMONS  51 

doctrines  as  rebaptism,  non-resistance,  religious  toleration, 
separation  of  Church  and  State,  opposition  to  capital  punish- 
ment and  war,  objection  to  the  holding  of  office  and  the  oath, 
the  Ban  as  a  method  of  church  discipline  —  in  all  of  these 
he  agreed  with  the  large  body  of  peaceful  Anabaptists. 

On  two  points,  however,  he  held  individual  views  which 
proved  to  be  the  cause  of  much  debate  and  misunderstand- 
ing between  himself  and  his  brethren.  One  of  these  was  his 
view  of  the  use  of  the  Ban  which  will  be  discussed  in  a  later 
chapter;  and  the  other  was  his  doctrine  of  the  incarnation 
which  he  perhaps  inherited  from  Melchior  Hoffman.  With 
Hoffman  he  seemed  to  minimize  the  human  properties  which 
Christ  received  from  Mary.  The  charge  against  him,  how- 
ever, of  anti-trinitarianism  is  misleading.  He  denied  neither 
the  divinity  nor  the  humanity  of  Christ,  although  his  ex- 
planation as  to  how  his  humanity  was  begotten  may  have 
differed  from  that  of  other  religious  thinkers. 

Like  most  Anabaptist  leaders,  Menna,  when  he  was 
not  being  driven  into  hiding,  was  constantly  being  challenged 
to  a  defence  of  his  views  by  his  state  Church  enemies.  A 
popular  method  among  theologians  and  religious  leaders  of 
airing  their  differences  was  through  open  disputations.  Two 
of  these  in  which  Menno  engaged  were  of  special  importance. 
The  first  was  a  debate  at  Emden  in  January,  1544,  with  John 
a'Lasco,  the  Zwinglian  reformer  of  East  Friesland.  This 
discussion  which  lasted  for  several  days  was  held  in  the 
presence  of  a  number  of  ministers.  The  questions  involved 
were  incarnation,  baptism,  original  sin,  sanctification,  the 
two  natures,  and  the  calling  of  the  minister.  Of  course,  neith- 
er side  was  convinced  by  the  arguments  of  the  other.  Menno's 
argument  against  infant  baptism  and  his  contention  that  the 
ministry  should  be  self-supporting  or  be  supported  by  vol- 
untary contributions,  involving  as  it  did  a  rejection  of  the 
ecclesiastical  tithes  was  especially  objectionable  to  the  state 
Church  party.  Although  Menno  was  requested  to  put  his 
arguments  into  printed  form  and  was  permitted  to  depart  in 


52  THE  MENNONITES 

peace,  within  a  few  months  he  was  compelled  to  leave  East 
Friesland. 

The  other  debate  was  held  at  Wismar  in  January  and 
February,  1554,  with  Martin  Micronius,  a  Reformed  minister 
from  Norden,  in  East  Friesland.  Much  the  same  subject 
matter  was  discussed,  —  baptism,  incarnation,  oath,  divorce, 
calling  of  ministers  and  civil  authorities.  The  last  session 
which  was  continued  for  eleven  hours  without  intermission, 
ended  with  evident  good-feeling  and  a  common  meal.  This 
apparent  toleration  on  the  part  of  the  state  Church  party 
was  due  to  the  fact  that  although  the  disputants  were  Ana- 
baptists and  Reformed  respectively,  the  debate  was  held  in 
a  Lutheran  town,  where  neither  of  the  two  parties  were 
technically  tolerated.  For  that  reason  there  was  not  the 
usual  publicity  about  this  disputation. 

The  circumstances  leading  up  to  this  Wismar  meeting 
are  not  without  interest.  A  party  of  fugitives,  followers  of  John 
a'Lasco,  formerly  of  East  Friesland,  who  had  just  been  driven 
out  of  England  by  Bloody  Mary,  had  been  shipwrecked  in 
the  ice  near  Wismar  on  their  return  to  the  continent.  The 
Lutherans  of  Wismar  offered  no  aid  to  the  shipwrecked 
Zwinglians,  but  the  Mennonites  took  food  and  drink  to  the 
ship  and  brought  the  fugitives  to  their  own  homes.  Among 
the  ice-bound  passengers  were  the  children  of  a'Lasco,  under 
the  care  of  a  tutor.  When  one  of  the  Mennonite  brethren 
kindly  offered  to  take  the  children  to  his  home  and  care  for 
them  until  they  could  be  taken  to  their  destination,  the  tutor 
protested  on  the  ground  that  a'Lasco,  who  was  accustomed 
to  deal  with  people  of  high  social  standing,  could  not  afford 
to  have  his  children  cared  for  by  an  ordinary  peasant.  Upon 
hearing  of  this  incident,  Menno  exclaimed,  "Very  plainly 
we  have  not  found  in  them  the  true  humble  followers  of 
Christ." 

Even  in  their  distress  the  ardor  of  the  Zwinglians  for 
spreading  their  faith  did  not  seem  to  abate.  For  they  soon 
prevailed  upon  Menno  to   enter  upon  a  debate  with  them. 


MENNO  SIMONS.  53 

Menno  who  was  practically  in  hiding  in  Wismar,  although 
he  was  known  to  the  Wismar  magistrates  and  was  not  molest- 
ed, knew  that  he  could  be  tolerated  only  as  long  as  he  avoided 
publicity.  For  that  reason  he  made  secrecy  a  condition  of  the 
disputation  to  which  the  Reformed  party  agreed.  Micronius  la- 
ter, however,  disregarded  the  agreement  and  published  the 
proceedings.  The  Zwinglians  who  remained  in  Wismar  only 
temporarily  had  little  to  lose  by  publicity,  but  Menno  was 
again  forced  to  seek  a  new  asylum. 

Menno  Simons  was  also  a  voluminous  writer  in  defence 
of  his  views.  Most  of  his  literary  work  consisted  of  fuller 
statements  of  arguments  presented  in  such  disputations  as 
those  spoken  of  above,  in  short  treatises  on  various  doctrines, 
and  in  replies  to  attacks  made  against  him  by  the  theologians 
of  the  day.  He  frequently  found  it  difficult  to  get  printers 
to  publish  his  treatises,  since  in  many  places  to  print  his 
books  was  made  a  criminal  offence  punishable  by  death.  Dur- 
ing his  latter  years  at  Wuestenfelde  he  owned  his  own  press, 
from  which  were  issued  a  number  of  his  pamphlets.  Among 
his  most  important  writings  are  his  "Renunciation  of  Rome", 
in  which  he  gives  his  reasons  for  leaving  the  Catholic  church ; 
"Testimony  Against  Jan  van  Leyden",  in  which  he  clears 
himself  of  being  a  Munsterite;  and  the  "Foundation  Book", 
written  in  1555,  rather  late  in  life,  which  gives  the  most  com- 
plete and  mature  statements  of  his  religious  principles. 

Menno  Simons  was  not  a  great  philosopher,  but  his  argu- 
ments are  soundly  Biblical,  and  well  buttressed  with  copious 
Scriptural  references.  He  is  more  interested  too  in  practical 
living  than  in  doctrinal  discussions.  If  his  writings  give  evi- 
dence occasionally  of  a  spirit  of  irritability  it  must  be  re- 
membered that  he  was  forced  under  trying  circumstances  to 
defend  his  faith  against  willful  and  malicious  misrepresenta- 
tions by  his  opponents.  And  compared  with  the  language  of 
the  latter,  Menno's  speech  is  decidedly  mild  for  that  age  of 
plain  talk  and  forceful  utterances. 

Unfortunately   Menno   and   his   brethren   not   only  were 


54  THE  MENNONITES 

forced  to  defend  their  views  against  enemies  from  without, 
but  sometimes  there  was  not  complete  harmony  within.  The 
two  most  troublesome  questions  on  which  they  disagreed 
were  the  Incarnation  and  Ban,  principally  the  latter.  As 
early  as  1547  Menno  met  Dirck  Philip,  Gillis  of  Aachen,  Leon- 
hard  Bouwens  and  Henry  Vremen,  leading  evangelists  of 
the  North  Sea  coast  regions  to  discipline  two  brethren  who 
had  drifted  from  the  fundamentals  —  Adam  Pastor,  accused 
of  anti-trinitarianism;  and  Francis  Cuyper,  charged  with  pro- 
Catholic  views.  These  two  men  were  excommunicated  and  a 
general  discussion  ensued  among  the  leaders  on  the  place  of 
the  Ban  in  church  discipline.  It  was  agreed  that  rigid  dis- 
cipline was  necessary  to  maintain  the  purity  of  the  church, 
Menno  especially  contending  that  even  the  marital  relations 
be  suspended  in  case  either  husband  or  wife  were  excom- 
municated. These  rigid  views  were  distasteful  to  many  of 
the  churches,  and  later  when  attempts  were  made  to  put  them 
into  practise,  no  end  of  confusion  followed. 

In  1554  these  same  elders  with  several  others  from  North 
Germany  and  Netherlands  met  again  at  Wismar,  where  they 
formulated  nine  rules  of  discipline  to  be  followed  by  the 
churches.  These  forbade  marriage  outside  of  the  church, 
and  demanded  that  in  case  husband  or  wife  lead  an  evil  life, 
separation  and  remarriage  be  permitted  under  certain  con- 
ditions. Marital  avoidance  was  to  be  observed  where  the 
Ban  was  applied  to  the  husband  or  wife.  Business  relations 
should  be  carried  on  with  apostates  only  under  extreme  neces- 
sity. Children  were  advised  not  to  marry  without  the  consent 
of  their  parents.  Just  debts  might  be  collected  but  no  unjust 
measures  were  to  be  used  in  forcing  payment.  Bearing  arms 
for  military  service  was  strictly  prohibited.  No  one  was  to 
preach  unless  ordained  by  the  church  authorities. 

The  attempt  to  enforce  some  of  these  rules  in  the  North 
met  with  vigorous  opposition.  Bouwens,  who  perhaps  was  a 
stricter  disciplinarian  than  either  Menno  or  Dirck  Philip, 
insisted   upon   applying  them   to    the   letter   in   the   territory 


MENNO  SIMONS  55 

within  his  immediate  jurisdiction,  as  did  also  Gillis  of  Aachen. 
The  strict  party  carried  the  practise  of  marital  avoidance  to 
such  lengths  that  many  churches  were  thrown  into  great 
confusion.  The  Franeker  congregation  was  rent  in  two  by 
the  controversy. 

The  South  German  and  Swiss  churches  were  pronounced 
in  their  opposition  to  the  strict  use  of  the  Ban.  Perhaps 
there  was  more  need  in  the  Northwest  for  its  rigid  applica- 
tion, for  it  was  here  that  the  "corrupt  sects",  —  the  Baten- 
burgers,  Miinsterites  and  other  survivors  of  the  tragedy  of 
1535,  were  continually  threatening  the  corruption  of  the 
church  at  large.  Menno  himself  declared  that  without  a 
strict  application  of  the  Ban  he  would  have  been  unable  to 
keep  his  own  churches  clear  from  the  Miinsterite  errors.  At 
any  rate,  the  southern  brethren  were  so  strenuously  opposed 
to  the  Wismar  rules  that  they  called  several  conferences  to 
discuss  this  and  other  questions  at  Strasburg  in  1555  and 
1557.  The  doctrine  of  Incarnation  on  which  there  was  dif- 
ference of  opinion  was  the  chief  issue  in  the  1555  con- 
ference, and  after  declaring  that 

"The  confusion  of  tongues  has  come  upon  the  breth- 
ren in  this  matter  because  they  would  know  more  than  it  was 
intended  they  should  know,"  they  urged  that  more  attention 
be  paid  to  keeping  God's  commands  than  prying  into  such 
mysteries.  They  should  be  satisfied  with  the  statement,  "The 
Word  became  flesh  and  tabernacled  among  us" — good  advice 
which,  if  taken,  would  have  profited  many  of  the  theologians 
of  that  day. 

The  conference  of  1557  was  attended  by  over  fifty  rep- 
resentatives of  the  churches  of  Suabia,  Moravia,  Switzerland, 
the  Palatinate,  Wurtemberg,  and  Alsace.  The  chief  purpose 
was  to  discuss  the  Wismar  rules.  It  was  decided  that  the 
regulations  laid  down  by  the  northern  brethren,  especially 
regarding  the  application  of  the  Ban  to  domestic  relations, 
were  too  strict.  Extenuating  circumstances  should  be  con- 
sidered, they  declared.     The  conference  appealed  to  Menno 


56  THE  MENNONITES 

at  Wismar  for  milder  measures.  As  a  proof  of  their  right  to 
speak  in  behalf  of  the  churches,  the  delegates  who  signed  the 
appeal  stated  that  many  of  them  still  bore  on  their  persons 
the  marks  of  persecution.  One  was  present,  who,  thirty 
years  before,  had  entertained  Michael  Sattler  in  his  own 
home.  A  committee  of  three  qualified  men  was  appointed 
to  carry  to  Menno  the  greetings  of  the  conference  and  also 
the  results  of  the  Strasburg  meeting.  This  committee  was 
to  come  to  an  understanding  with  him  on  the  disputed  points 
and  report  back  to  the  churches  in  Germany  and  the  Nether- 
lands. These  men,  however,  failed  so  utterly  both  in  their 
interview  with  the  leader  at  Wismar  and  in  the  report  they 
later  gave  of  their  visit  that  the  situation  became  more  con- 
fused than  ever.  An  actual  division  resulted  in  some  of  the 
northern   churches. 

Menno  was  greatly  disturbed  by  these  events  in  his  de- 
clining years,  and  travelled  extensively  for  the  purpose  of 
healing  the  breach,  but  to  little  avail. 

His  latter  days  were  spent  at  Wuestenfelde  in  rather 
straitened  circumstances.  He  evidently  received  some  sort 
of  income  from  Friesland,  for  in  a  letter  to  his  brother-in-law 
he  asks  for  sixty  gulden,  which  are  due  him  "for",  says  he, 
"butchering  time  is  here  and  I  have  nothing  with  which  to 
buy."  He  died  January  13,  1561,  and  was  buried  in  his  own 
garden.  The  exact  place  of  his  burial  is  unknown  now,  for 
during  the  Thirty  Years'  War  Wuestenfelde  was  one  of  the 
villages  that  fell  prey  to  the  spirit  of  devastation  which  char- 
acterized that  period. 

Menno  Simons  deserves  a  higher  rank  among  the  great 
reformers  than  has  thus  far  been  accorded  him  by  writers  of 
church  history.  Although  he  did  not  play  as  conspicuous  a 
role  as  did  his  contemporaries,  —  Luther,  Zwingli  and  Cal- 
vin, his  real  greatness  cannot  be  measured  by  the  humble  part 
he  seemed  to  play  upon  the  religious  arena  of  his  time.  His 
task  was  in  many  respects  a  much  more  difficult  one  than 
that  of  the  founders  of  the  state  churches.     They  relied  upon 


MENNO  SIMONS  57 

a  union  of  State  and  Church  and  upon  the  support  of  the 
strong  arm  of  the  temporal  powers  to  maintain  their  system. 
Menno  on  the  other  hand  appealed  to  the  force  of  love  and 
the  simple  truth  of  the  Gospel  as  vital  enough  to  secure  the 
permanency  of  the  true  church.  Menno  and  his  co-workers 
were  centuries  ahead  of  their  day  on  many  of  the  great  fun- 
damentals of  religious  and  civil  liberty  which  today  in  Ameri- 
ca and  the  more  enlightened  portions  of  Europe  are  taken  for 
granted,  such  as  religious  toleration,  separation  of  Church 
and  State,  and  the  desirability  at  least  of  universal  peace.  As 
the  world  grows  into  a  realization  of  these  great  fundamental 
truths,  Menno  Simons'  place  as  a  pioneer  will  become  more 
and  more  secure. 

It  is  thus  observed  that  Menno  Simons  was  not  the 
founder  of  a  new  church  but  merely  one  of  the  early  leaders, 
perhaps  the  most  influential  among  them  in  the  early  forma- 
tive period.  It  was  not  uncommon  for  new  movements  to  be 
named  after  conspicuous  leaders.  Thus  the  peaceful  Ana- 
baptists of  Netherlands  and  East  Friesland  before  Menno's 
time  were  called  Obbenites  after  Obbe  Philip.  The  followers 
of  Melchior  Hoffman  were  called  the  Melchiorites.  In  some 
sections  of  Germany  where  Dirck  Philip's  influence  was 
strong  they  were  locally  termed  Dirkites.  The  term  Menist 
as  we  saw  was  first  used  in  1544,  by  Countess  Anna  of  East 
Friesland,  as  a  distinguishing  title.  Soon  after  this  in  both 
North  and  South  Germany  they  were  often  glad  to  assume 
this  name  because  under  that  name  they  were  better  able  to 
escape  the  consequences  of  the  decree  against  the  Anabap- 
tists. And  so  the  name  Menist  was  likely  assumed  by  the 
followers  of  Menno  themselves. 

After  the  granting  of  religious  toleration  in  the  Nether- 
lands by  William,  the  name  Menist  might  have  fallen  out  of 
use  in  the  Netherlands  had  it  now  not  again  been  revived  as  a 
party  name.  During  the  controversy  over  the  question  of  the 
Ban  and  Avoidance,  the  Flemish  and  the  Frisians  who  ac- 
cepted Menno's  strict  views  in  these  matters  again  became 


58  THE  MENNONITES 

known  as  Menists,  while  the  Waterlanders,  High  Germans 
and  Young  Frisians  who  accepted  liberal  views  in  these  mat- 
ters repudiated  the  name  of  the  author  of  the  strict  views 
but  preferred  the  older  name  of  "Doopsgezinde".  As  party- 
strife  died  out  during  the  early  nineteenth  century,  and  as  the 
Dutch  churches  all  became  more  liberal,  "Doopsgezinde"  be- 
gan to  prevail  over  the  other  title  and  that  is  the  official  name 
of  the  church  in  Netherlands  today. 

In  Switzerland  during  the  periods  of  heavy  persecution, 
the  Swiss,  while  they  were  under  heavy  obligations  to  the 
Dutch,  they  were  inclined  to  assume  the  name  Menist  also, 
but  at  other  times  "Alt-Evangelische  Taufer"  was  more  com- 
mon. One  recent  writer  calls  attention  to  the  fact  that  the 
name  Mennonite  was  used  especially  in  those  countries  in 
which  the  imperial  decrees  against  Anabaptists  were  effective 
—  in  Germany  and  the  Netherlands  for  a  time,  not  in  France 
and  in  Switzerland.  Under  whatever  name  these  descend- 
ants of  the  peaceful  Anabaptists  went,  however,  they  were  all 
essentially  Mennonite  and  in  this  treatise  they  shall  all  be 
called  such. 

Mention  has  already  been  made  of  Menno's  faithful  co- 
laborers,  who  in  some  respects  may  have  done  equally  as 
much  in  the  extension  of  the  non-resistant  faith,  but  who  did 
not  leave  their  names  as  a  heritage  to  the  movement.  These 
men  should  at  least  be  given  brief  mention  here. 

Obbe  Philip  was  the  leading  spirit  among  the  peaceful 
Anabaptists  of  Netherlands  and  East  Friesland  during  the 
troublesome  times  of  the  Miinster  affair,  and  did  more  than 
any  other  leader  in  keeping  large  numbers  out  of  that  move- 
ment. He  baptized  and  ordained  Menno  Simons,  and  for  a 
few  years  faithfully  labored  with  him  at  Emden  in  the  in- 
terests of  the  cause.  In  the  early  forties  he  withdrew  from 
the  brotherhood,  for  a  cause  not  known.  Tradition  says  he 
later  re-entered  the  Catholic  church,  but  how  true  the  tradi- 
tion is  we  do  not  know. 

Dirck   Philip,   a  native  of   Leuwarden,   and    brother    of 


DIRCK  PHILIP 


MENNO  SIMONS  59 

Obbe,  was  also  baptized  and  ordained  by  his  brother  and 
closely  associated  with  him  during  his  period  of  service.  Dirck 
later  became  the  most  intimate  associate  of  Menno's,  and 
after  him  the  most  influential  exponent  of  Anabaptist  doc- 
trines. He  made  Danzig  the  center  of  his  activities  through- 
out Northeastern  Germany  during  the  last  twenty  years  of 
his  life.  He  wrote  several  books,  the  principal  one  being 
"Enchiridion",  still  read  extensively  by  the  Old  Order  Amish 
because  Dirck  is  one  of  the  few  old  authors  who  advocates  a 
rigid  observance  of  the  practise  of  Avoidance,  a  practice  still 
common  to  the  Amish. 

Leonhard  Bouwens  was  perhaps  the  most  eloquent  and 
successful  evangelist  of  the  entire  group  of  northern  leaders. 
He  was  ordained  as  elder  in  1551,  and  given  Northeastern 
Netherlands  as  his  special  field  of  labor.  His  eloquence  and 
zeal  won  many  converts.  In  a  few  years  he  baptized  over 
ten  thousand  people.  His  period  of  labor  came  at  a  time 
when  persecution  ran  high,  and  he  took  many  risks  in  his 
public  ministry.  He  was  a  strict  disciplinarian  and  was  per- 
haps largely  responsible  for  the  division  of  1557. 

Another  of  Menno's  co-laborers  was  Gillis  of  Aachen, 
born  in  1500,  in  Holland,  and  ordained  an  elder  by  Menno  in 
1542.  He  travelled  extensively  in  Holland  and  Northern 
Germany  and  baptized  many  converts.  He  baptized  more 
martyrs  than  any  other  elder  whose  name  appears  in  the  Mar- 
tyrs' Mirror.  He  evidently  was  of  a  somewhat  vacillating  char- 
acter, however,  for  in  1552  he  was  placed  under  the  Ban  by  Men- 
no  because  of  a  moral  lapse,  but  later  again  reinstated.  He  was 
captured  in  1557  at  Antwerp,  and  under  torture  recanted,  for 
which  reason  van  Bracht  refused  to  include  him  in  his  list  of 
martyrs,  even  though  his  recantation  availed  him  nothing, 
for  his  right  arm  and  head  were  cut  off  and  his  body  thrown 
into  the  flames  to  be  burned.  His  son  of  the  same  name  later 
became  a  minister  of  Amsterdam,  as  did  also  his  grandson, 
the  well-known  Dr.  Galenus  Abrahams  deHaan. 

As  a  result  of  the  heroic  efforts  of  these  and  other  men 


60  THE  MENNONITES 

not  named,  the  Anabaptist  faith  was  greatly  extended 
throughout  the  Netherlands  and  Northern  Germany,  kept  free 
from  the  unsound  doctrines  of  the  "corrupt  sects",  and  given 
a  definite  organization,  which  carried  it  safely  through  the 
trying  times  that  were  still  to  follow. 


THE  NETHERLANDS  61 


CHAPTER  III 

THE  NETHERLANDS 

Anabaptists  appeared  in  Northwestern  Germany  and  in 
the  Netherlands  early  in  the  history  of  the  movement.  Who 
the  first  of  the  faith  were  in  these  regions  it  is  not  possible  to 
tell,  but  as  early  as  1530,  Jan  Trypmaker,  a  follower  of  Mel- 
chior  Hoffman,  founded  a  group  here,  and  Hoffman  himself 
played  an  important  role  in  the  spread  of  the  movement. 
Every  variety  of  the  Anabaptists  seemed  represented,  but  of 
the  peaceful  type,  as  we  have  already  seen,  Dirck  Philip  and 
his  brother  Obbe,  Leonhard  Bouwens,  and  Menno  Simons 
became  the  chief  leaders.  In  spite  of  persecutions  the  move- 
ment seems  to  have  made  more  progress  here  than  in  any 
other  region.  Up  to  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century,  the 
Anabaptists  were  the  predominant  evangelical  party  in  Neth- 
erlands and  for  a  time  seemed  destined  to  win  the  entire  land 
to  their  faith.  At  one  time  one-fourth  of  the  population  of 
Friesland  was  of  the  Anabaptist  persuasion.  Lutherans  never 
gained  much  foothold  and  the  Reformed  faith  did  not  develop 
much  influence  until  the  latter  half  of  the  century.  The  move- 
ment was  confined  largely  to  the  northern  provinces  —  Hol- 
land, Zealand,  Overyssel,  Friesland,  and  Groningen,  with 
some  settlements  in  Flanders  and  Brabant  where  it  was 
stamped  out  quite  early,  however. 

It  was  in  the  Netherlands,  too,  that  persecutions  raged 
fiercest.  Those  provinces  at  this  time  constituted  a  part  of 
the  Spanish  dominion.  Both  Charles  V.  and  his  successor, 
Philip  II.,  were  devout  Catholics,  and  did  their  utmost  to 
root  out  every  vestige  of  the  anti-Catholic  sentiment  from 
their  possessions.     For  three-quarters  of  a  century,  men,  wo- 


62  THE  MENNONITES 

men  and  children  were  condemned  to  the  most  cruel  forms  of 
torture  and  death  because  they  asked  for  the  right  to  wor- 
ship God  in  the  way  that  seemed  right  to  them.  Just  how 
many  suffered  a  martyr's  death  is  not  possible  to  tell,  but  the 
number  must  have  been  large.  In  Amsterdam  alone  in  one 
year,  1535,  thirty  were  executed.  During  Duke  Alva's  rule 
of  a  few  years  one  hundred  and  eleven  were  sent  to  their 
death  in  two  provinces — Holland  and  Zealand.  The  Martyrs' 
Mirror  contains  hundreds  of  names  of  martyrs,  most  of  whom 
were  from  the  Netherlands.  It  is  perhaps  not  too  extrava- 
gant to  say  that  from  1531  to  1594,  the  dates  of  the  first  and 
the  last  executions,  between  fifteen  hundred  and  two  thou- 
sand Anabaptists  and  Mennonites  were  sent  to  a  martyr's 
grave. 

An  edict  of  1569  issued  by  Philip  II.  to  take  an  inventory 
of  all  Mennonite  property  with  a  view  to  confiscation  lends 
plausibility  to  the  charge  that  greed  for  the  possessions  of 
well-to-do  tradesmen  may  have  had  a  great  deal  to  do  with 
this  wholesale  slaughter  of  innocent  men  and  women.  No 
one  on  pain  of  a  heavy  fine  and  in  some  cases  death  was  per- 
mitted to  shelter  a  Mennonite  refugee,  while  inducements  to 
betray  them  were  made  by  a  promise  of  one-third  of  the 
property  of  the  victim. 

These  persecutions  continued  until  William  of  Orange 
became  Stadtholder  of  the  northern  provinces,  who  in  1578 
granted  the  Mennonites  a  limited  toleration.  There  were  a 
few  isolated  cases  after  this  where  men  were  killed  for  their 
faith,  but  the  day  when  men  were  called  upon  to  die  for  their 
religion  practically  passed  in  the  Netherlands  with  the  close 
of  the  century. 

The  methods  of  execution  were  as  cruel  as  fanatical  in- 
genuity could  devise.  Burning  at  the  stake,  sometimes  with 
a  slow  fire,  was  a  common  method.  Occasionally  a  bag  of 
powder  would  be  tied  about  the  neck  or  placed  in  the  hat 
of  the  victim,  which  would  hasten  his  death  when  it  caught 
fire  and  exploded.    Women  were  frequently  tied  in  a  bag,  and 


THE  NETHERLANDS  63 

thrown  into  rivers  and  lakes.  Occasionally  victims  were 
buried  alive.  Men  and  women  were  stretched  on  the  rack 
until  their  bones  cracked  and  blood  flowed;  had  their  tongues 
and  limbs  pierced  by  screws,  or  pinched  in  vises  for  the  pur- 
pose of  forcing  them  to  betray  the  whereabouts  of  their  fel- 
low-believers. But  seldom  even  under  the  greatest  pain  could 
they  be  induced  to  implicate  others. 

In  the  cross-questioning  process  to  which  they  were  sub- 
jected for  the  purpose  of  getting  information  regarding  oth- 
ers they  were  frequently  compelled  to  give  evasive  answers. 
In  1556  Claes  de  Praet  was  apprehended  at  Ghent,  and  among 
other  questions  the  following  dialogue  took  place  between  the 
prisoner  and  his  captor. 

Bailiff:   "Where  was  it  that  you  received  baptism?" 

Claes:     "At  Antwerp." 

Bailiff:   "In  what  home?" 

Claes:  "In  a  small  new  home." 

Bailiff:     "What  trade  was  carried  on  in  it?" 

Claes :     "I  saw  no  trade  carried  on  in  it." 

Bailiff:    "What  kind  of  a  man  was  he  who  baptized  you?" 

Claes :    "He  appeared  to  be  a  blameless  man." 

Continuing  his  own  story,  Claes  says  further  on  in  the  rec- 
ord, "The  clerk  asked  me  what  persons  from  Ghent  I  had  left  at 
Emden.  I  gave  him  no  answer,  for  it  was  none  of  his  busi- 
ness to  ask." 

The  above  incident  is  typical  of  hundreds  found  recorded 
in  van  Bracht's  Martyrs'  Mirror.  From  the  study  of  these 
cases  we  observe  that  the  doctrinal  matters  of  chief  concern 
to  the  inquisitors  were  baptism,  the  Roman  church,  the 
Lord's  Supper,  and  the  incarnation.  Mennonites  were  identi- 
fied by  their  views  on  these  points.  The  question  of  the  oath 
and  the  refusal  to  bear  arms  was  of  more  concern  to  the  tem- 
poral authorities.  On  the  incarnation  the  theories  of  Mel- 
chior  Hoffman  and  Menno  Simons  seemed  to  be  quite  preva- 
lent. This  view  was  especially  objectionable  to  the  Catholic 
theologians,  for  the  reason  that  if  Mary  contributed  no  hu- 


64  THE  MENNONITES 

man  properties  to  Christ,  the  proof  that  she  was  the  mother  of 
God  would  be  considerably  weakened.  These  examinations, 
also,  disclose  the  fact  that  these  quiet,  inoffensive  Menno- 
nites  were  quite  commonly  confused  with  the  Miinsterites 
by  the  Catholic  theologians,  a  charge  which  the  accused  vig- 
orously denied,  but  of  no  avail.  Either  ignorantly  or  deliber- 
ately their  persecutors  insisted  on  maintaining  the  charge. 

Priests  were  often  sent  into  the  cells  of  doomed  men 
for  the  purpose  of  securing  a  recantation.  Van  Bracht  re- 
cords the  discussion,  in  1569,  between  a  Mennonite  prisoner, 
Jacob  de  Roore  by  name,  and  a  Franciscan  friar,  Corneliz. 
After  sounding  his  victim  on  many  of  the  fundamental 
doctrines,  the  friar  found  him  so  well-versed  in  the  Scriptures 
that  he  exclaimed,  "You  Anabaptists  are  certainly  fine  fel- 
lows to  understand  the  Holy  Scriptures ;  for  before  you  are 
baptized  you  can't  tell  A  from  B,  but  as  soon  as  you  are 
baptized  you  can  read  and  write.  If  the  devil  and  his  mother 
do  not  have  a  hand  in  this  I  do  not  understand  anything 
about  you  people."  Upon  asking  Jacob  what  he  thought  of 
the  sacrament  of  the  confession,  and  upon  being  referred  to  a 
quotation  from  James,  "Confess  your  faults  to  one  another," 
the  exasperated  friar  broke  forth,  "You  accursed  Anabaptist 
that  you  are.  You  seek  nothing  but  to  tangle  up  everything 
that  is  advanced  against  you  —  the  devil  wags  your  tongue." 

After  suffering  several  hours  of  abuse,  similar  to  the 
above,  Jacob  ventured  to  suggest : 

"I  am  heartily  sorry  that  you  always  get  so  incensed  and 
excited  about  my  answers,  and  that  you  do  not  consider  that 
Paul  says  to  Titus  that  a  teacher  must  not  be  snappish,  angry 
or  contentious." 

Finding  this  Mennonite  weaver  more  than  a  match  for 
him  in  the  Scriptures,  friar  Corneliz  concluded  the  interview: 

"Well,  I  have  no  desire  to  dispute  any  longer  with  you. 
I  shall  go  my  way  and  let  the  executioner  dispute  with  you, 
with  a  burning  fagot  and  afterward  the  devil  in  hell  with 
a  burning  pitch,  brimstone  and  tar,  see !" 


Mennonite  Church,  Sneek,  Holland. 


THE  NETHERLANDS  65 

Jacob :  "No ;  for  Paul  writes,  If  our  earthly  house  of 
this  tabernacle  were  dissolved  we  have  a  building  of  God, 
a  house  not  made  with  hands,  eternal  in  the  heavens." 

Corneliz :  "Bah,  in  hell,  in  hell,  expect  nothing  else  than 
to  go  through  this  temporal  fire  into  the  eternal.  Hell  yawns 
and  gasps  for  your  soul,  you  accurs:d,  damned  Anabaptist 
that  you  are,  see!" 

As  a  result  of  these  persecutions  thousands  of  those  who 
escaped  death  at  the  stake  or  in  prison  were  forced  back  into 
the  state  Church,  or  escaping  across  the  borders  founded  new 
communities  in  other  lands.  Many  churches  along  the  Low- 
er Rhine  in  Germany,  in  East  Friesland  and  West  Prussia 
were  founded  by  Dutch  refugees.  Some  also  found  their  way 
to  England. 

In  return  for  William's  edict  of  toleration,  in  1578,  the 
Waterlander  Mennonites  supplied  the  Stadtholder  with  large 
contributions  of  money  and  supplies  gathered  from  the  con- 
gregations ;  for  the  Mennonites  here  and  in  other  lands  took 
the  rather  inconsistent  stand  of  refusing  to  bear  arms  but 
willing  to  furnish  money  with  which  to  supply  the  means  of 
war.  In  1575,  when  there  was  a  call  for  universal  service  in 
the  northern  provinces  the  Mennonites  were  requested  to 
come  with  spades  for  non-combatant  service  instead  of  guns. 
Maurice,  William's  successor,  followed  his  father's  lenient 
policy  toward  the  Mennonites,  as  did  also  later  successors. 

After  Calvinism  replaced  Catholicism  in  the  Nether- 
lands, the  Reformed  state  Church  attempted  the  role  of  per- 
secutor ;  for  the  Mennonite  doctrine  of  the  separation  of  State 
and  Church  and  the  voluntary  congregational  church  organi- 
zation was  as  distasteful  to  the  Reformed  as  it  had  been  to 
the  Catholics,  since  these  principles,  if  adopted,  would  put 
an  end  to  all  established  churches.  In  most  of  the  provinces 
the  Church  appealed  to  the  temporal  authorities  to  limit  their 
privileges.  In  West  Friesland  where  Calvinism  was  espe- 
cially strong,  a  synod  at  Dordrecht,  in  1574,  requested  the 
Provincial  Estates  to  force  all  Mennonites  to  take  the  oath 

3 


66  THE  MENNONITES 

on  pain  of  exile,  to  have  their  children  baptized,  and  to  grant 
the  Reformed  permission  to  attend  meetings  of  Mennonites 
for  the  purpose  of  converting  them.  This  latter  privilege  was 
granted,  but  with  what  result  is  not  known.  A  later  synod 
demanded  that  Mennonite  bishops  be  denied  the  right  to 
baptize.  In  1604,  the  ordaining  of  young  ministers  was  to 
be  forbidden.  The  next  year  a  synod  attempted  to  prevent 
the  building  of  church  houses.  And  so  on  for  nearly  the  en- 
tire seventeenth  century  the  Reformed  Church  tried  to  crush 
the  Mennonite  faith.  Its  failure  to  do  so  was  due  to  the 
tolerant  policy  of  the  Stadtholders  and  of  the  States  General. 

It  must  not  be  supposed,  however,  that  the  toleration  of 
1578  and  later  included  absolute  religious  freedom  as  we 
think  of  that  term  today.  Toleration  was  limited  to  the  right 
to  worship  without  fear  of  suffering  the  death  penalty.  In  some 
of  the  Dutch  provinces  the  Established  Church  still  succeed- 
ed through  magistrates  and  provincial  estates  to  greatly 
hamper  the  religious  freedom  of  the  Mennonites.  Thus  in 
1602  the  magistrate  of  Sneek  forbade  them  to  worship  in 
public.  In  Leuwarden  they  were  denied  the  right  to  car- 
ry on  business,  and  three  ministers  were  ordered  to  leave 
the  city  within  three  days.  Everywhere  Mennonites  were 
still  compelled  to  pay  taxes  for  the  support  of  the  state 
Church,  to  have  their  marriages  confirmed  by  them,  and  were 
denied  the  right  of  full-fledged  citizenship.  It  was  not  until 
the  close  of  the  century  that  Mennonites  were  placed  upon 
the  same  footing  with  the  Reformed  in  religions  matters  and 
civil  rights. 

In  spite  of  these  oppressions  from  without  the  Dutch 
Mennonites  found  time  to  quarrel  among  themselves  over 
questions  of  doctrine  and  practise.  The  tendency  toward  di- 
vision has  been  characteristic  of  Mennonite  history  from  its 
earliest  beginnings.  Among  other  reasons  the  following  may 
be  suggested:  1.  Mennonitism  is  the  essence  of  individual- 
ism. The  individual  is  to  interpret  the  Bible  for  himself; 
he   is   to  worship   as   he  pleases   and   to   obey  only   his   own 


THE  NETHERLANDS  67 

conscience  in  all  matters  of  religious  faith.  Persecution  in 
the  early  days  made  secrecy  necessary,  and  common  organi- 
zation impossible.  Each  congregation  was  a  self-governing 
unit.  2.  A  spirit  of  exclusiveness,  as  we  have  already  seen, 
characterized  the  early  Anabaptist  movement  as  well  as  the 
later  Mennonites.  This  feeling  was  engendered  by  the  con- 
ception that  the  true  Christian  must  live  a  life  separated  from 
the  world,  and  was  reenforced  by  the  fierce  persecutions 
through  which  they  passed.  3.  Coupled  with  this  spirit  of 
exclusiveness  there  was  the  provincialism  or  sectionalism 
which  would  lead  each  group  to  look  with  suspicion  upon 
the  opinions  and  practises  of  other  groups,  if  they  differed 
from  their  own. 

The  question  which  aroused  most  discussion  and  caused 
most  of  the  divisions  was  that  of  church  discipline,  especially 
the  use  of  the  Ban  and  the  practise  of  shunning  those  who 
were  excommunicated.  Attention  has  already  been  called  to 
the  divisions  which  arose  in  Menno's  day  as  a  result  of  the 
strict  application  of  this  practise  to  marital  avoidance.  Two 
other  troublesome  questions  were  the  incarnation  and  mode 
of  baptism. 

Space  does  not  permit  here  a  detailed  discussion  of  the 
various  party  divisions  existing  during  the  latter  half  of  the 
sixteenth  century.  A  brief  enumeration,  however,  may  not 
be  out  of  place. 

The  Flemish  were  refugees  who  had  come  originally 
from  Flanders  into  Friesland.  Many  of  them  were  skilled 
weavers  and  had  been  well-to-do  citizens  in  their  homeland. 
They  possessed  more  culture  than  did  the  Frisians  and 
were  inclined  to  be  more  liberal  in  their  religious  think- 
ing and  practise.  There  was  an  extremely  conservative 
wing  among  them,  however,  known  as  the  Old  Flemish.  These 
Old  Flemings  were  exceedingly  strict  disciplinarians  and  were 
similar  in  many  respects  to  the  Old  Order  Amish  in  America 
today.  They  made  free  use  of  the  Ban  and  shunned  all  those 
excommunicated,    carrying     marital     avoidance     to     extreme 


68  THE  MENNONITES 

length.  The  practise  of  shunning,  advocated  by  Dietrich 
Philip  and  also  Menno  Simons  to  a  less  extent,  it  will  be  re- 
membered, demanded  that  all  intercourse,  social  and  business 
relations  as  well  as  religious  fellowship,  be  severed  with  one 
who  was  excommunicated,  and  among  the  stricter  sects  this 
was  extended  to  the  marital  relations  as  well.  The  Old  Flem- 
ish practised  feetwashing,  but  only  among  elders  when  visit- 
ing from  a  distance.  They  wore  hooks  and  eyes  on  their 
clothes,  and  shoestrings  instead  of  buckles.  They  wore  long 
beards  and  insisted  upon  peculiar  cuts  of  clothing.  Some 
practised  immersion  and  were  called  "dompelaars".  Silent 
prayer  was  customary.  They  were  quite  literal  in  their  in- 
terpretation of  the  Bible,  some  insisting  on  observing  the 
Lord's  Supper  in  the  evening. 

At  the  liberal  end  were  the  Waterlanders,  so-called  be- 
cause originally  they  came  from  the  southern  end  of  Holland, 
a  region  called  Waterland.  These  were  exceedingly  sparing 
in  their  use  of  the  Ban,  insisted  on  no  set  Confession  of  Faith, 
and  had  few  set  rules  regulating  their  belief  and  practise. 
Leonhard  Bouwens  called  them  "dung  wagons"  perhaps  be- 
cause their  liberal  discipline  permitted  some  to  remain  in  the 
church  who  were  not  worthy. 

Between  these  two  extremes  were  the  Frisians  and  Up- 
per Germans.  The  former  as  the  name  implies  were  the 
churches  of  Friesland,  who  refused  at  first  to  fellowship  with 
the  Flemish  immigrants.  There  were  two  wings  of  these  also. 
The  "Young"  or  "Loose"  Frisians  approached  the  Waterland- 
ers in  their  religious  policy.  The  Upper  Germans  had  come 
into  Netherlands  as  refugees  from  Upper  Germany. 

For  many  years  these  parties  maintained  their  separate 
indentity,  refusing  to  fellowship  with  one  another.  They 
used  the  Ban  freely  against  one  another,  forbade  intermar- 
riage, and  admitted  members  from  one  party  to  another  only 
by  rebaptism.  These  party  divisions  were  not  confined  to  the 
Dutch  churches  but  were  carried  across  the  border  through- 
out the  congregations  of  Northern  Germany,  many  of  which 


THE  NETHERLANDS  69 

had  been  founded  originally  by  Dutch  refugees.  The  strict 
elements  were  often  called  "Fine  Mennonites",  while  the  lib- 
erals were  sometimes  known  as  "Loose"  or  "Coarse". 

But  by  the  middle  of  the  century  attempts  were  made 
to  unify  those  parties  that  had  most  in  common.  In  1560  a 
group  of  Frisian  and  Flemish  churches  attempted  to  work 
together  in  raising  money  to  help  some  refugees  and  also  to 
unite  on  a  common  platform  of  doctrine.  The  plan  did  not 
succeed,  however.  During  the  first  half  of  the  seventeenth 
century  a  number  of  unions  were  formed,  and  several  leagues 
of  congregations  of  the  same  division.  In  1639  seventy-four 
churches  of  the  Frisian,  Upper  German  and  Flemish  united 
in  drawing  up  certain  rules  of  practise.  In  1647  forty-one 
Waterlander  churches  formed  a  league,  and  in  1649  thirty- 
two  Flemish  and  Upper  German  congregations  united.  By 
the  middle  of  the  century  the  Old  Flemish,  and  the  Old 
Frisian  alone  refused  to  enter  into  a  union  with  others  for 
practical  or  doctrinal  purposes.  The  movement  toward  a 
complete  union  again  of  all  the  churches  was  well  under 
way  when  the  wave  of  Socinianism,  which  was  sweeping  over 
the  Netherlands,  affected  the  Mennonites  also,  and  again 
divided  the  whole  church  into  two  broad  divisions. 

It  was  these  attempts  to  unite  on  a  common  platform 
that  called  forth  the  first  Confessions  of  Faith.  One  of  the 
earliest  of  these  confessions  was  the  one  drawn  up  by  Lub- 
bert  Gerrits,  and  Hans  de  Ries,  a  Waterlander,  in  the  early 
part  of  the  seventeenth  century.  In  1630  the  Olive  Branch 
Confession  served  as  a  basis  of  union  of  some  Upper  German 
and  Frisian  congregations.  In  1632  the  well-known  Dord- 
recht articles  were  drawn  up  at  a  "peace"  convention.  These 
latter  were  accepted  also,  in  course  of  time  in  South  Ger- 
many, Switzerland  and  America.  In  1639  a  set  of  practical 
rules,  not  a  statement  of  doctrines,  was  drawn  up  under  the 
guidance  of  Pieter  Jans  Twisk,  for  the  churches  of  West 
Friesland.  These  rules  are  interesting  as  showing  some  of 
the  social  and  religious  problems  of  the  day.     They  provided 


70  THE  MENNONITES 

that  in  case  of  second  marriage  the  inheritance  of  the  children 
should  be  provided  for  so  as  to  avoid  all  cause  of  discord. 
Young  people  should  not  mingle  too  freely  and  should  not 
marry  without  the  consent  of  their  parents.  Costly  weddings 
are  discouraged.  Moderation  after  the  example  of  Tobias  is 
to  be  emulated.  In  business  transactions  the  taverns  are  to 
be  avoided.  Honesty  in  business  is  to  be  the  rule.  Shipown- 
ers are  not  to  arm  their  ships  with  weapons.  The  use  of  to- 
bacco is  discouraged.  Houses,  ships,  and  clothing  should  be 
without  unnecessary  adornment.  When  moving  from  one 
place  to  another  members  should  carry  with  them  letters  of 
recommendation. 

Socinianism  was  an  anti-Calvinistic,  anti-pedobaptist, 
anti-trinitarian  movement  which  arose  in  Poland  during  the 
latter  half  of  the  sixteenth  century,  and  spread  over  the 
Netherlands  during  the  seventeenth.  The  Reformed  Church, 
being  strongly  Calvinistic,  bitterly  opposed  the  growth  of 
Socinianism.  The  movement  exerted  considerable  influence 
among  the  Mennonite  ministers,  a  number  of  whom  were 
fined  and  forbidden  to  preach  during  the  century  because  of 
their  Socinian  views. 

Out  of  Socinianism  there  emerged  another  movement  at 
Rhynsburgs,  Holland,  in  1619,  whose  adherents  became 
known  as  Collegiants.  They  did  not  form  a  distinct  organi- 
zation but  were  composed  of  interdenominational  groups 
which  met  for  religious  worship.  They  repudiated  all  de- 
nominational connections.  They  evaded  all  controversies 
and  tolerated  all  opinions  not  directly  condemned  by  the  Bi- 
ble. Like  Mennonites  they  opposed  oaths  and  war,  but  ad- 
ministered baptism  by  immersion.  Like  the  later  Quakers  they 
abolished  the  office  of  teacher,  giving  all  an  opportunity  to 
teach  and  prophesy.  All  spiritually-minded  Christians  were 
admitted  to  the  communion  table. 

Since  the  Mennonites  at  this  time  had  no  special  school 
for  training  ministers  many  of  them  took  advantage  of  these 
Collegiant  prayer  meetings  to  exercise  their  gifts  and  develop 


THE  NETHERLANDS  71 

their  talents.  In  this  way  Collegiants  who  were  made  up  of 
various  denominations  exerted  considerable  influence  upon 
the  Mennonites.  The  door  was  thus  thrown  open  to  the 
introduction  by  these  liberal  preachers  of  a  considerable  ele- 
ment of  non-Mennonite  teaching. 

This  practise  resulted  in  1664  in  starting  a  breach  in  the 
Flemish  church  at  Amsterdam,  which  spread  through  the 
congregations  of  the  entire  land,  checking  the  rapid  move- 
ment toward  unification  then  under  way,  and  dividing  the  en- 
tire church  once  more  into  two  great  divisions. 

The  breach  began,  as  just  said,  in  Amsterdam.  In  this 
church  there  were  at  that  time  two  able  preachers,  both  of 
them  practising  physicians,  Dr.  Galenus  Abrahams  de  Haan, 
and  Dr.  Samuel  Apostool.  De  Haan  had  utilized  the  Col- 
legiant  meetings  to  prepare  himself  for  his  ministerial 
work  and  was  a  man  of  liberal  Socinian  views.  He  believed 
that  baptism  might  be  administered  by  unordained  men,  and 
objected  to  set  creeds  and  formulated  Confessions  of  Faith. 
He  would  also  permit  non-members  to  participate  in  the 
Lord's  Supper.  These  views  were  bitterly  opposed  by  the 
conservative  members  of  his  congregation.  In  1664,  Dr.  Sam- 
uel Apostool  and  seven  hundred  members  of  the  congrega- 
tion withdrew  and  set  up  a  separate  organization.  These 
proposed  to  stand  upon  the  Confession  of  Faith  drawn  up 
by  Hans  de  Ries  early  in  the  century,  and  also  repudiated  the 
Collegiant  influences.  The  meeting  place  of  this  congregation 
was  a  house  that  bore  the  sign  of  the  sun  and  so  this  party  be- 
came known  as  the  "Sonnists"  (the  church  of  the  sign  of  the 
sun).  The  original  house  was  distinguished  by  the  sign  of  the 
lamb,  and  for  that  reason  those  who  remained  with  de  Haan  in 
the  original  house  became  known  as  the  "Lammists"  (the 
church  of  the  sign  of  the  lamb).  This  division  into  Sonnists  and 
Lammists,  liberal  and  conservative,  Socinian  and  anti-Socin- 
ian,  free  and  strict  disciplinarians,  spread  throughout  the 
Netherlands  and  over  into  Northern  Germany.  For  over 
one  hundred  years  these  parties  together  with  such  others  as 


72  THE  MENNONITES 

had   not   yet   been   united   kept   the   church   divided   and   her 
forces  scattered. 

In  the  course  of  time,  however,  each  of  the  two  divisions 
brought  within  their  organizations  many  of  the  scattered 
churches.  Throughout  the  eigtheenth  century  the  healing 
process  continued.  At  first  united  effort  was  secured  for  car- 
rying on  practical  benevolent  work,  or  for  providing  training 
schools  for  ministers.  By  1773  a  number  of  congregations 
of  different  parties  had  agreed  upon  the  statement  of  doctrines 
as  drawn  up  in  the  Cornells  Ris  Confession  of  1776.  Since  this 
confession  like  those  of  the  previous  century  was  an  attempt 
to  bring  together  the  different  parties  it  is  interesting  to  no- 
tice how  it  straddled  the  controverted  points  in  order  to  satis- 
fy all  concerned.     Concerning  baptism 

"We  understand  it  to  be  an  immersing  of  the  whole  body 
in  water,  or  a  liberal  sprinkling  with  water  (which  we  in 
these  northern  latitudes  consider  more  generally  appropriate 
since  the  same  blessings  are  signified  by  it)." 

.  On  the  question  of  the  church  Ban   moderation   is  ad- 
vised.   As  a  final  resort  the  unfaithful 

"must  finally  by  decision  of  the  whole  congregation  be 
excluded  from  membership  and  denied  all  church  fellowship 
till  he  is  truly  converted  and  gives  evident  proof  thereof. 
However,  all  must  be  done  with  due  regard  to  position  and 
circumstances,  yet  without  respect  of  person." 

In  1811  was  organized  the  General  Mennonite  Society 
for  the  purpose  of  training  ministers  and  supporting  poor 
churches.    Most  of  the  churches  now  belong  to  this  Society. 

Socinianism  with  its  objection  to  formal  creeds  and  its 
encouragement  of  liberal  thought  on  matters  of  doctrine  con- 
tinued to  handicap  the  church  far  into  the  eighteenth  century. 
It  was  the  cause  of  continued  oppression  by  the  Reformed 
Church,  and  did  much  to  pave  the  way  for  the  spirit  of  ra- 
tionalism of  the  nineteenth  century. 

The  Reformed  to  the  very  last  continued  their  efforts  to 
destroy  Mennonitism,  and  during  these  times  they  made  use 


THE  NETHERLANDS  73 


of  isolated  cases  of  Socinianistic  views  to  bring  the  whole 
church  into  trouble  with  the  temporal  authorities.  Thus  in 
1719  they  secured  the  suspension  of  all  Mennonite  preaching 
for  a  short  time.  Later  they  demanded  that  all  Mennonite 
ministers  submit  to  an  investigation  conducted  by  the  Re- 
formed clergy  on  the  questions  of  the  trinity;  whether  the 
children  who  died  in  infancy  should  be  eternally  blessed; 
whether  the  godless  must  suffer  eternal  punishment;  whether 
the  punishment  after  death  would  be  inflicted  upon  the  same 
earthly  body  as  a  new  one.  In  1738,  thirty-eight  churches 
sent  delegates  to  a  conference  which  under  the  presidency  of 
John  von  Stinstra,  minister  at  Haarlem,  appealed  to  the  West 
Friesland  government  for  relief  from  this  sort  of  persecution. 
The  appeal  was  granted,  although  von  Stinstra,  because  of 
some  of  his  writings  which  were  objectionable  to  the  Reformed 
clergy,  was  denied  the  right  to  preach  for  several  years.  In 
1795,  as  we  saw,  complete  religious  toleration  was  granted 
and  Mennonites  were  placed  on  an  equal  footing  with  the 
prevailing  church. 

Although  continually  hampered  in  their  work  by  the 
state  clergy  the  Mennonites  were  on  good  terms  with  the 
temporal  authorities.  As  we  saw,  they  were  liberal  in  their 
contributions  to  the  provincial  and  national  governments  even 
for  carrying  on  war.  In  the  war  with  England  the  Water- 
land  Mennonites  of  Friesland  alone  raised  500,000  gulden  to 
equip  a  part  of  the  fleet  of  Admiral  deRuyter.  A  little  later  they 
raised  another  400,000  for  the  war  against  France.  So  great 
was  their  influence  with  the  States  General  that  in  1709,  they 
were  able  to  persuade  that  body  to  intercede  with  the  Bernese 
government  in  behalf  of  the  persecuted  Swiss  Mennonites. 

In  view  of  their  liberal  contributions  to  the  Dutch  gov- 
ernment the  Mennonites  were  able  to  enjoy  military  exemp- 
tion up  to  the  Napoleonic  era.  When  Netherlands  was  incor- 
porated into  the  French  Empire  in  1810,  Napoleon  brought 
to  an  end  their  special  privileges  which  they  had  enjoyed 
for  over  two  centuries.     In  the  meantime  many  of  them  had 


74  THE  MENNONITES 

already  grown  lukewarm  in  their  opposition  to  military  serv- 
ice, and  after  the  war  no  special  effort  was  made  to  regain 
their  former  privileges.  From  that  time  the  Mennonites  of 
Netherlands  ceased  to  be  non-resistant.  In  1853  a  small  group 
of  people  still  opposed  to  militarism,  under  the  leadership  of 
R.  I.  Smit  and  R.  I.  Symensma,  emigrated  to  the  United 
States  locating  in  Elkhart  County,  Indiana,  where  they  are 
now  a  part  of  the  Old  Mennonite  Salem  congregation. 

During  all  this  period  (up  to  the  eighteenth  century)  the 
Mennonites  had  become  prosperous  and  in  many  cases 
wealthy.  They  counted  among  their  membership  some  of 
the  wealthiest  merchants  and  most  learned  professional  men 
of  the  cities.  They  were  industrious,  conscientious  and 
thorough  in  all  they  undertook.  So  great  was  their  passion 
for  honest  genuineness  that  "Mennisten  infijn"  (Mennonite 
fine  through  and  through)  became  synonymous  for  the  best 
grade  of  any  kind  of  material.  In  their  dress,  however,  they 
were  not  extravagant.  Unnecessary  ornaments  were  discard- 
ed, even  buckles  and  buttons  among  the  Old  Flemish  being 
taken  off. 

Their  worship,  like  their  daily  living,  was  simple.  Their 
meeting  houses  were  plain  both  outside  and  in,  and  contained 
no  church  organs.  The  ministers  were  of  three  classes, 
bishops,  ministers  and  deacons.  They  were  all  "Liefde- 
preeker",  serving  without  pay,  and  without  special  training 
for  their  work  until  the  latter  half  of  the  seventeenth  century. 
The  Ban  was  used  as  a  means  of  church  discipline  although 
the  Waterlanders  used  it  sparingly.  In  some  of  the  divisions 
feetwashing  was  practised.  They  refused  to  take  an  oath 
and  go  to  war.  Merchants  were  not  permitted  to  arm  their 
ships.  Controversies  were  settled  within  the  church  and  no 
recourse  was  permitted  to  the  courts  of  law.  Neither  did 
they  have  need  for  courts  of  law.  In  1772  the  Chief  of  Police 
of  Amsterdam  who  had  filled  that  office  for  fifty  years  stated 
that  during  all  that  time  not  a  single  serious  charge  had 
been  registered  against  a  Mennonite. 


THE  NETHERLANDS  75 

Mennonites  were  among  the  most  liberal  contributors  to 
every  worthy  cause.  Throughout  the  seventeenth  century 
they  sent  provisions  and  money  to  their  persecuted  brethren 
in  Moravia,  Switzerland  and  the  Palatinate.  1709  they  organ- 
ized the  "Committee  for  Foreign  Needs"  which  sent  large 
sums  of  money  to  the  Swiss  and  helped  many  to  find  their 
way  to  America.  They  did  not  confine  their  gifts  to  those  of 
their  own  faith,  but  even  helped  the  Huguenots,  who  were 
of  the  same  faith  as  their  oppressors  in  the  Netherlands. 

During  the  eighteenth  century,  however,  the  Mennonites 
lost  heavily  in  membership,  from  an  estimated  number  of 
nearly  200,000  in  the  beginning  of  the  century  to  about  40,000 
at  the  close.  A  recent  writer  attributes  this  loss  to  the  fol- 
lowing causes:  1.  Riches  led  to  many  outside  family  alli- 
ances. 2.  The  liberal  spirit  of  the  age  bred  a  contempt  for 
the  faith  of  the  fathers.  3.  The  numerous  divisions  scattered 
the  energies  of  the  church.  4.  Positions  of  trust  in  political 
life  closed  to  Mennonites  caused  many  to  go  over  into  the 
State  Church.  5.  The  chief  cause  was  the  inefficient  leader- 
ship, especially  lack  of  an  educated  ministry. 

It  was  for  the  purpose  of  remedying  the  last  cause  that 
a  movement  for  founding  a  Theological  seminary  was  in- 
augurated in  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century.  Up  to 
the  latter  part  of  the  seventeenth  century  ministers  were  un- 
paid and  not  specially  prepared  for  their  work,  but  selected 
from  the  congregation.  Professional  men,  especially  physi- 
cians, were  frequently  selected  in  the  cities.  For  a  while  the 
meetings  of  the  Collegiants  were  utilized  as  training  schools 
for  prospective  and  actual  ministers.  Realizing  the  need  of  a 
trained  ministry,  Galenus  Abrahams  de  Haan,  physician-min- 
ister at  Amsterdam,  instructed  a  group  of  young  men  after 
the  manner  of  the  Collegiants  in  1680.  The  Amsterdam  con- 
gregations tried  to  interest  other  churches  in  helping  to  es- 
tablish a  training  school,  but  it  was  not  until  1735  that  the 
Seminary  was  established,  but  supported  solely  by  the  one 
church.    The  General  Society  of  Mennonites  founded  in  1811 


76  THE  MENNONITES 

took  over  the  Seminary  which  is  now  affiliated  with  the 
University  of  Amsterdam. 

Since  1847  the  Dutch  churches  also  have  their  own  mis- 
sionary society  with  headquarters  at  Amsterdam.  The  work 
of  this  society  has  also  been  supported  by  the  churches  in 
Germany  and  Russia.  In  1851  P.  Jantz  began  mission  work 
in  Java  and  in  1869  Missionary  Henry  Dircks  from  South 
Russia  began  his  labors  in  Sumatra.  Mennonite  churches 
are  found  now  in  both  islands. 

The  Dutch  Mennonite  church  produced  a  long  list  of  able 
men  who  exerted  great  influence  upon  the  church  of  their 
day.    A  few  of  these  at  least  deserve  mention  here. 

Hans  de  Ries  was  born  in  1553,  of  Catholic  parents  in 
Antwerp.  He  joined  the  Reformed  Church  but  soon  after 
cast  his  lot  with  the  Anabaptists  among  whom  he  was  early 
ordained  to  the  ministry  in  the  Waterlander  church.  After 
suffering  imprisonment  and  enduring  persecution  in  many 
cities  he  preached  for  over  forty  years  at  Alkmar,  where  he 
died  in  1638.  De  Ries  was  active  in  fostering  a  closer  union 
among  the  divided  Mennonite  churches  of  the  Netherlands. 
To  this  end,  he,  together  with  Lubbert  Gerrits,  drew  up  at  the 
request  of  a  conference  held  in  1581  an  important  early  Con- 
fession of  Faith  which  was  not  published  until  1610.  He  also 
published  several  books,  and  was  the  editor,  in  1604,  of  the 
first  hymnbook  of  the  Dutch  Mennonites.  In  1617  he  was 
one  of  the  compilers  of  the  list  of  martyrs  which  later  devel- 
oped into  the  Martyrs'  Mirror. 

Lubbert  Gerrits,  co-author  with  de  Ries  of  a  Confession 
of  Faith,  was  born  in  1535,  and  was  a  minister  for  many  years 
at  Hoorn.  At  first  a  member  of  the  Old  Flemish,  he  later 
joined  the  more  liberal  Frisian  Mennonites.  He  also  was 
greatly  interested  in  the  cause  of  unification. 

Samuel  Apostool,  born  in  1638,  and  who  died  in  1699, 
was  a  well-known  physician  and  minister  in  the  church  at 
Amsterdam.  He  is  known  principally  as  the  leader  of  the 
Sonnist  faction  in  the  quarrel  with  a  fellow  physician-preach- 


'lllV111:1'^!!]!!!"!!!* 


THE  NETHERLANDS  77 

er  in  the  Amsterdam  church,  Dr.  Galenus  Abrahams  cle  Haan. 
In  the  controversy  Dr.  Apostool  maintained  the  doctrines  of 
the  eternal  Godhead  of  Christ,  complete  justification  and  a 
visible  church  on  earth. 

Galenus  Abrahams  de  Haan  was  elected  a  preacher  of 
the  Flemish  Amsterdam  church  in  1645.  He  was  a  great- 
grandson  of  the  co-laborer  of  Menno  Simons,  Gillis  van 
Aachen.  De  Haan  was  said  to  be  an  eloquent  preacher,  a 
sympathetic  disciplinarian,  and  a  fearless  expounder  of  the 
truth.  He  travelled  extensively  in  the  interests  of  his  wing  of 
the  church  and  was  largely  personally  responsible  for  the 
spreading  of  the  Lammist  faction  into  other  regions. 

Johannes  Deknatel  was  born  at  Norden,  East  Friesland,  in 
1698.  He  was  of  poor  parents  but  secured  a  good  education. 
In  1720  he  was  appointed  minister  of  the  Lammist  Church  at 
Amsterdam,  one  of  the  earliest  to  receive  a  salary.  He  took  a 
deep  interest  in  the  cause  of  educating  the  ministry,  and  was 
the  founder  of  a  fund  for  poor  students,  out  of  which  grew 
the  present  Theological  seminary.  He  wrote  a  number  of 
books  and  translated  a  number  of  others  from  the  Dutch  into 
the  German.  These  together  with  his  printed  sermons  had  a 
wide  circulation  both  in  Holland  and  among  German  speak- 
ing Mennonites  to  a  late  day.      He  died  in  1759. 

Thielman  van  Bracht,  a  Mennonite  preacher  at  Haarlem, 
is  best  known  as  the  compiler  in  1660  of  the  "Het  Bloedig 
Toneel  der  Doopsgezinde  en  Wereloose  Christenen".  The 
Martyrs'  Mirror  has  been  translated  into  both  German  and 
English,  and  is  perhaps  the  best  known  among  all  Mennonite 
books. 

Tobias  Govertsz  van  den  Wyngaert  was  born  at  Amster- 
dam in  1587.  He  served  the  Flemish  church  in  his  native 
city  as  minister  for  over  fifty  years.  He  was  the  author  of 
numerous  widely  read  works  on  theology,  and  represented 
his  church  at  Dordrecht  at  the  convention  which  drew  up  the 
Dordrecht  Confession  of  Faith  of  1632. 


78  THE  MENNONITES 

Cornelis  Ris,  Mennonite  minister  at  Hoorn,  is  best  known 
as  the  author  of  a  well-known  Confession  of  Faith  drawn 
up  in  1766  at  the  request  of  both  wings  of  the  Mennonite 
church  in  his  home  city. 

Hermanus  Schyn,  born  in  Amsterdam  in  1662,  died  in 
1727.  He  was  an  influential  minister  in  Amsterdam  and  also 
a  physician.  He  wrote  an  important  Mennonite  history  and 
took  great  interest  in  the  emigration  to  Germantown  in  the 
latter  part  of  the  seventeenth  century. 

Johann  von  Stinstra,  an  able  minister  at  Haarlem,  was  at- 
tacked by  the  Reformed  clergy  in  Friesland  on  the  charge  of 
Socinianism.  He  was  finally  deposed  for  a  time  by  the  Dutch 
Government,  but  in  1757  he  was  restored  again.  He  was 
an  eloquent  preacher  and  an  interesting  writer.  His  death 
occurred  in  1800. 

Among  the  prominent  men  in  the  church  during  recent 
times  only  a  few  can  be  mentioned.  Dr.  de  Hoop  Scheffer, 
who  died  in  1893,  was  a  professor  in  the  Theological  Sem- 
inary at  Amsterdam  and  a  Mennonite  historian  of  note.  Ten 
Gate  was  also  an  author  of  a  well-known  Mennonite  history. 
S.  Kramer,  theologian  and  professor,  was  connected  with  the 
Seminary  and  the  University  of  Amsterdam  until  recent  years. 

Upon  the  course  of  general  church  history  the  Mennonites 
exerted  no  mean  influence.  They  were  pioneers  in  the  history  of 
the  doctrines  of  religious  toleration,  separation  of  Church  and 
State,  and  congregational  church  government.  These  ideas  first 
saw  the  light  of  day  in  Switzerland  and  Netherlands,  but  found 
their  way  to  Southeastern  England.  During  the  Spanish  per- 
secutions in  the  Netherlands  thousands  of  Dutch  refugees  fled 
across  the  Channel  to  England.  During  this  time  also  as  well 
as  later  many  of  the  wealthy  Dutch  merchants  carried  on  com- 
mercial intercourse  with  the  English.  And  so  these  distinctive 
doctrines  were  carried  acrossthe  Channel.  That  Anabaptist  doc- 
trines were  making  headway  in  England  during  the  sixteenth 
and  early  seventeenth  century  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  all 
the  English  Confessions  of  Faith  in  all  the  churches  existing 


THE  NETHERLANDS  79 

during  that  period  found  it  necessary  to  specifically  repudiate 
the  distinctive  teachings  of  the  Anabaptists. 

Norwich,  whose  population  was  made  up  largely  of  Dutch 
refugees  and  artisans,  was  the  center  of  the  separatist  move- 
ment which  was  making  headway  in  Southeastern  England 
during  the  last  two  decades  of  the  sixteenth  century.  In  1580 
Robert  Brown  had  established  an  independent  congregation 
here.  But  he  and  his  congregation  were  eventually  forced  to 
flee  to  Middleberg,  Zeeland,  where  they  came  in  close  touch 
with  the  Mennonite  congregation  at  that  place.  Within  a  few 
years  several  other  independent  congregations  developed  near 
Norwich.  These,  too,  were  broken  up  and  many  of  the  mem- 
bers were  forced  to  flee  to  Holland  where  they  were  united 
at  Amsterdam.  In  1602  John  Smythe  organized  a  congrega- 
tion at  Gainsboro.  This  congregation  contained  several  mem- 
bers, who  later  became  famous  in  both  English  and  American 
history,  —  John  Robinson,  the  pastor  of  the  little  flock  of  ref- 
ugees who  later  became  the  "Pilgrim  fathers",  and  William 
Brewster,  deacon  of  the  church ;  William  Bradford,  early  gov- 
ernor of  the  Plymouth  colony;  and  Smythe  and  Helwys,  who 
became  the  founders  of  the  English  Baptist  Church. 

In  1606  Smythe  and  his  congregation  fled  to  Amsterdam 
where  they  soon  came  into  contact  with  the  large  Mennonite 
church  at  that  place.  Up  to  this  time  the  English  refugees 
were  separatists,  but  none  as  yet  advocated  adult  baptism. 
Smythe  was  the  first  to  reject  infant  baptism  and  put  into 
practise  adult  baptism.  Not  finding  anyone,  however,  whom 
he  considered  worthy  to  perform  the  rite,  he  baptized  himself 
sometime  in  1609,  and  then  Helwys  and  a  number  of  his  mem- 
bers. Helwys  and  Merton  and  the  larger  part  of  the  con- 
gregation soon  fell  out  with  Smythe  and  withdrew  from  him, 
whereupon  the  latter,  together  with  thirty-one  members,  ap- 
plied for  membership  into  the  Mennonite  church.  The  Men- 
nonites  hesitated  to  accept  him  immediately,  however,  and 
Smythe  soon  after  died  without  being  formally  received  into 
the  church.  But  the  rest  of  his  followers  worshipped  in  a  house 


80  THE  MENNONITES 

belonging  to  a  Mennonite  and  continued  in  the  most  friendly- 
relations  with  the  Mennonites  during  their  stay  in  Amsterdam. 

In  1612  Merton  returned  to  England  and  soon  several 
congregations  of  Baptists  were  established  in  and  near  Lon- 
don. For  several  years  these  kept  up  a  correspondence  with 
the  Mennonites  at  Amsterdam  asking  for  a  union  with  them. 
Although  they  had  developed  some  differences  in  the  mean- 
time with  reference  to  the  oath,  magistracy  and  military  serv- 
ice, yet  they  were  willing  to  compromise  on  these  matters  for 
the  sake  of  union.  The  Mennonites,  however,  who  were  now 
strong  and  influential  in  their  own  country,  refused  to  com- 
promise and  so  the  two  anti-pedobaptist  parties,  English  and 
Continental,  each  went  their  own  way. 

Not  all  of  the  separatists,  however,  of  Southeastern  Eng- 
land became  Baptists.  Another  wing  went  no  further  than 
to  merely  demand  independent  and  congregational  church 
government.  This  party  later  developed  into  the  Congrega- 
tional church.  While  the  contact  of  this  group  with  the 
Dutch  Mennonites  was  not  as  close  as  was  that  of  the  Bap- 
tists, yet  it  owes  its  beginning  to  the  same  Anabaptist  in- 
fluence. 

Quakerism,  too,  must  have  drawn  largely  upon  Men- 
nonite sources  for  its  faith.  It  arose  in  the  same  section  of 
Southeastern  England  which  saw  the  rise  of  Baptism  and 
Congregationalism,  and  it  incorporated  many  of  the  tenets  of 
Continental  Anabaptism,  such  as  the  rejection  of  the  oath 
and  war.  All  the  other  distinctive  features  of  Quakerism 
were  found  among  some  of  the  Anabaptist  and  Mennonite 
parties  on  the  Continent.  George  Fox,  William  Penn,  Robert 
Barclay,  and  other  organizers  of  Quakerism,  in  1677  and  la- 
ter, made  a  missionary  tour  among  the  Mennonites  of  the 
Netherlands  and  Northwestern  Germany  where  they  suc- 
ceeded in  securing  a  number  of  proselytes.  Robert  Barclay, 
a  Quaker  authority  on  this  subject,  in  speaking  of  the  sim- 
ilarity of  the  two  denominations,  says : 

"So   closely   do   these   views   correspond   with    those    of 


THE  NETHERLANDS  81 

George  Fox,  that  we  are  compelled  to  view  him  as  the  un- 
conscious exponent  of  the  doctrine,  practise  and  discipline 
of  the  ancient  and  strict  party  of  the  Dutch  Mennonites,  at  a 
period  when  under  pressure  of  the  times  some  deviation  took 
place  among  the  General  Baptists  from  their  original  prin- 
ciples." 

It  may  not  be  out  of  place  here  to  refer  also  to  the  rela- 
tion of  the  Mennonites  to  the  Dunkards,  although  that  phase 
of  the  subject  concerns  the  German  rather  than  the  Dutch  Men- 
nonites. The  Dunkards  adopted  practically  all  of  the  Anabaptist 
doctrines.  The  movement  was  founded  in  1708  in  Germany  by 
Alexander  Mack,  a  Reformed  minister.  After  leaving  the  Re- 
formed church  he  travelled  widely  throughout  Germany,  es- 
pecially among  Mennonites  looking  for  some  church  with 
which  he  might  unite.  Not  finding  one,  however,  exactly  to 
his  liking,  he  formed  a  new  one,  which  had  so  much  in  com- 
mon with  those  among  whom  he  was  looking  for  a  church 
home  that  one  cannot  escape  the  conviction  that  perhaps  un- 
consciously much  of  the  faith  and  practise  must  have  been 
drawn  from  Mennonite  sources. 

The  present  number  of  Mennonites  in  the  Netherlands 
is  about  65,000  souls  distributed  throughout  about  one  hun- 
dred and  thirty  congregations.  European  statistics  usually 
include  unbaptized  children  as  well  as  members,  since  in  all 
state  churches  children,  being  baptized  in  infancy,  are  in- 
cluded in  the  membership.  The  actual  baptized  membership 
is  perhaps  not  much  over  40,000,  of  whom  6,547  are  actual 
members  of  the  large  congregation  at  Amsterdam.  It  will 
thus  be  seen  that  the  membership  has  barely  held  its  own 
during  the  last  hundred  years. 

In  doctrine  the  Dutch  Mennonites  have  discarded  some  of 
the  fundamental  teachings  of  Menno  Simons  and  the  earlier 
Anabaptists.  They  still  believe  in  absolute  separation  of 
Church  and  State,  and  reject  the  oath.  They  also  remain 
congregationalists  and  anti-pedobaptists.  Church  discipline 
they   exercise   sparingly.      Non-resistance   and    non-participa- 


82  THE  MENNONITES 

tion  in  civil  government  is  no  longer  a  part  of  their  creed  or 
practise.  Authors  of  nearly  all  the  leading  Confessions  of 
Faith  still  in  use  in  the  Mennonite  Church  in  the  remaining 
countries  of  Europe  and  America,  they  themselves  tolerate 
none,  but  profess  to  let  the  Bible  suffice  as  a  rule  of  faith  and 
conduct.  All  kinds  of  doctrinal  views  are  tolerated.  Many 
are  charged  with  unitarianism.  The  large  majority  is  liber- 
al in  its  religious  thinking,  while  the  conservative  minority 
professes  a  "Biblical  orthodoxy". 

Due  to  the  fact  that  the  Dutch  Mennonites  live  largely 
in  the  cities  and  have  engaged  for  years  in  business  and  pro- 
fessional life,  unlike  their  brethren  in  South  Germany,  Russia 
and  America  who  have  been  largely  a  rural  people,  many  of 
them  have  attained  places  of  influence  in  public  life.  Some- 
time ago,  of  the  twenty-eight  members  of  the  Supreme  Court, 
four  were  Mennonites.  Three  out  of  twenty-seven  members 
of  the  Council  of  State  were  Mennonites.  The  president  of 
the  Bank  of  Netherlands  was  of  the  same  faith.  From  one 
hundred  members  of  the  Academy  of  Science  they  had  eleven, 
although  they  had  only  one-hundredth  of  the  total  popula- 
tion. The  Dutch  Mennonites  do  not  live  in  closed  communi- 
ties as  do  their  brethren  in  some  parts  of  Europe  und  in 
many  places  in  America.  This,  too,  helps  to  explain  their 
liberalism.  With  the  exception  of  their  Seminary  which  is 
affiliated  with  and  dominated  by  the  University  of  Amster- 
dam, they  do  not  have  their  own  schools  as  do  the  Russians, 
nor  do  they  bury  their  dead  in  their  own  cemeteries.  As  just 
seen,  the  Dutch  Mennonites  have  furnished  much  of  the  lit- 
erature of  the  church,  including  most  of  the  Confessions  of 
Faith,  the  earliest  writers  of  importance,  and  the  first  prom- 
inent historians.  Among  the  periodicals  now  published  are  a 
church  paper,  "de  Zondagsbode",  and  a  year-book,  "de  Doops- 
gezinde  Bijdragen",  full  of  valuable  historical  writings.  The 
church  at  Amsterdam  contains  a  valuable  collection  of  Men- 
nonite literature  and  has  recently  issued  a  catalog  of  the 
library. 


ULRICH  STEINER 
Mennonite  Elder,  Switzerland.  Died  1877. 


SWITZERLAND  83 


CHAPTER  IV 

SWITZERLAND 

Switzerland,  as  we  saw,  was  the  original  home  of  the  Ana- 
baptist movement.  The  term  "Mennonite"  has  never  been  in 
common  use  among  the  Swiss  Taufer  or  Taufgesinnte.  Al- 
though they  call  themselves  Alt-Evangelische  Taufgesinnte, 
they  recognize  themselves  as  a  part  of  the  Mennonite  body 
and  in  this  sketch  we  shall  use  the  name  Mennonite.  Since 
the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century  the  center  of  their  in- 
fluence has  been  confined  to  several  of  the  north  central  Can- 
tons— Bern,  Zurich,  Basel  and  Solothurn.  By  about  1800, 
however,  persecution  had  practically  annihilated  the  faith 
everywhere  else  except  in  two  settlements  in  the  Canton  of 
Bern. 

The  story  of  the  persecution  of  the  Mennonites  in  the 
land  of  their  origin,  the  Swiss  Republic,  supposedly  the  home 
of  religious  toleration,  was  the  most  bitter  and  the  most  dis- 
graceful in  all  the  annals  of  Europe.  They  were  relentless- 
ly attacked  by  both  State  and  Church  for  nearly  three  hun- 
dred years.  The  death  penalty  was  inflicted  until  well  with- 
in the  seventeenth  century ;  they  were  condemned  to  serve 
as  galley  slaves  as  late  as  the  eighteenth  century ;  and  were 
left  to  rot  in  filthy  prisons,  and  banished  to  foreign  lands  up 
to  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century. 

Mandate^  after  mandate  was  passed  throughout  the  six- 
teenth century  by  the  Councils  of  Bern,  Zurich  and  several 
other  neighboring  Cantons,  forbidding  Mennonites  under 
penalty  of  severe  punishment  to  practise  their  own  forms  of 
worship,   and    demanding   attendance   at   the   state   churches. 


84  THE  MENNONITES 

They  were  ordered  to  recant  and  to  have  their  children  bap- 
tized. Rewards  were  offered  for  information  leading  to  their 
arrest.  In  case  they  refused  to  comply  with  the  above  orders 
they  were  fined,  imprisoned,  exiled  and  their  property  confis- 
cated. In  case  exiles  returned,  as  many  of  them  did,  they 
were  tortured  and  executed,  or  sold  to  the  French  and  Vene- 
tians as  galley  slaves,  although  at  the  same  time  Swiss  were 
buying  the  freedom  of  French  Huguenots  condemned  to  the 
same  service.  Any  one  shielding  Mennonites  in  any  way, 
or  attending  their  meetings  became  subject  to  a  heavy  fine 
and  temporary  exile. 

As  a  result  of  these  measures  many  escaped  to  South 
Germany,  Alsace,  and  especially  Moravia  which  early  had  be- 
come an  asylum  for  persecuted  Anabaptists.  But  as  op- 
pression also  set  in  intermittently  in  the  latter  country,  some 
of  the  Swiss  returned  to  their  native  land.  Near  the  close 
of  the  century  both  Bern  and  Zurich  forbade  emigration  to 
Moravia  on  the  ground  that  many  of  the  Swiss  Mennonites 
who  had  gone  to  Moravia  rich  had  returned  empty-handed. 
Scores  of  devoted  men  and  women  during  the  first  cen- 
tury went  to  the  executioner's  block  rather  than  deny  their 
faith.  Only  two  of  these  martyrs  can  be  mentioned  here. 
The  death  of  Hans  Haslibach  of  Sumiswald,  Bern,  in  1571, 
i<;  briefly  recorded  in  the  Martyrs'  Mirror.  Hymn  140  in  the 
Ausbund  also  describes  in  detail  the  story  of  this  martyr — his 
imprisonment,  torture,  attempt  of  the  clergy  to  secure  a  re- 
cantation ;  the  sturdy  faith  of  the  old  man, 

"This  body  you  may  put  to  death, 
I'll  give  my  head,  but  not  my  faith", 
he  said;  his  vision  and  the  prophecy  that  at  his  death  three 
signs  would  prove  his  innocence — namely,  when  his  head 
would  be  severed  from  his  body  it  would  leap  into  his  hat, 
the  sun  would  turn  red,  and  the  town  well  would  flow  crim- 
son ;  the  fulfillment  of  the  prophecy,  and  the  effect  upon  the 
executioner  and  attendants  who  were  convinced  now  that 
they  had  shed  innocent  blood.     This  Haslibacher  hymn   of 


SWITZERLAND  85 

thirty-two  long  stanzas,  sung  entire,  held  a  conspicuous  place 
in  the  worship  of  the  Swiss  for  hundreds  of  years,  and  is  still 
sung  today  in  America  by  the  Old  Order  Amish. 

The  last  Swiss  Mennonite  martyr,  according  to  the 
Martyrs'  Mirror,  was  Hans  Landis  of  Zurich,  who  was  be- 
headed in  1614.  Landis  was  an  influential  minister  who 
carried  on  his  preaching  and  other  ministerial  duties 
contrary  to  a  decree  of  the  Zurich  Council.  He 
was  arrested,  imprisoned  and  finally  condemned  to 
the  Venetian  galleys.  But  filing  his  chains  with  an  in- 
strument smuggled  in  to  him  by  a  friend  at  the  time  of  his 
departure,  he  escaped.  Returning  to  his  native  land  he  was 
again  taken  into  custody.  Upon  being  ordered  into  exile, 
he  replied  that  God  gave  him  the  same  right  to  the  land  as  to 
the  others,  and  the  earth  was  the  Lord's.  At  any  rate,  he 
preferred  to  live  in  his  native  land,  neither  did  he  know  where 
to  go.  Besides  he  was  now  old  and  no  longer  feared  death. 
As  a  result  of  this  refusal  to  leave,  he  was  condemned  to 
death  by  the  Great  Council.  The  Martyrs'  Mirror  describes 
Landis  as  "a  tall  and  stately  person  with  a  long  grey  and 
black  beard  and  a  powerful  voice". 

Although  Landis  was  the  last  of  the  Mennonites  to  suf- 
fer the  death  penalty,  persecution  continued  unabated  for  the 
next  two  hundred  years.  Especially  severe  were  the  meas- 
ures passed  by  the  Councils  of  Bern  and  Zurich  during  the 
middle  of  the  seventeenth  and  the  first  part  of  the  eighteenth 
centuries.  Beginning  with  1640,  mandates  were  repeatedly 
renewed  ordering  the  imprisonment  of  Mennonites.  The 
prisoners  were  to  be  visited  by  the  Reformed  clergymen  with 
a  view  to  winning  them  back  to  the  State  Church.  Failure  to 
comply  was  punishable  by  exile.  In  case  of  return  they  were 
to  be  whipped,  branded  with  a  hot  iron  and  again  exiled. 
Prisoners  were  fed  for  months  on  a  bread-and-water  diet. 
Prison  cells  were  usually  damp  and  foul,  and  full  of  disease 
germs  causing  the  premature  death  of  many  of  the  inmates. 
The  property  of  those  who  were  arrested  and  condemned  was 


S6  THE  MENNONITES 

frequently  confiscated  and  given  to  the  nearest  relative  of  the 
Reformed  faith,  or  turned  over  to  the  State  Church  itself. 

A  letter  written  by  the  Swiss  in  1643  to  the  elder  of  the 
Mennonite  congregation  at  Amsterdam  states  that  up  to  that 
time  $80,000  had  been  confiscated,  and  that  on  Easter  day  of 
that  year  thirty  men  and  women  were  lying  in  filthy  prisons. 
The  letter  further  stated  that  the  charges  of  the  Bernese 
state  authorities  were  that  the  Mennonites  preached  and  bap- 
tized without  consent  of  the  State,  brought  up  their  children 
in  their  own  discipline  contrary  to  public  law,  and  never  went 
to  the  State  Church  on  Sundays  and  holidays.  Another  charge 
was  that  they  refused  to  bear  arms  and  take  an  oath. 

The  Dutch  Mennonite  churches  greatly  stirred  by  these 
reports  sent  a  special  commission  to  Bern  to  investigate  the 
situation  of  their  brethren,  and  to  offer  them  financial  aid. 
The  Bernese,  however,  did  not  permit  the  money  to  be  dis- 
tributed. The  Dutch  then  succeeded  in  enlisting  the  inter- 
est of  both  their  States  General  and  the  Burgomaster  of 
Amsterdam  in  behalf  of  the  Swiss.  In  a  letter  to  the  Bernese 
Government  asking  that  the  Mennonites  be  permitted  to  leave 
Switzerland  unmolested  with  their  families  and  property,  the 
States  General  speaks  favorably  of  the  Dutch  Mennonites : 

"They  are  a  highly  respected  and  peaceful  people,  will- 
ing at  all  times  to  perform  all  their  civil  duties,  and  giving 
liberally  to  all  worthy  causes,  even  contributing  to  the  ben- 
evolence of  the  Reformed  Church  itself." 

The  Swiss  authorities,  however,  determined  to  extermin- 
ate Mennonitism  without  any  financial  loss  to  themselves, 
could  not  be  turned  from  their  course  even  by  the  Dutch 
States  General.  Oppression  became  so  severe  that  finally 
large  numbers  were  forced  to  leave  their  native  land,  most 
of  them  empty-handed.  A  Relief  Society  founded  and  sup- 
ported by  the  Dutch  churches,  did  excellent  service  in  ren- 
dering help  to  the  Swiss  who  were  in  need  in  their  own  land 
as  well  as  to  those  who  had  been  driven  from  their  homes 
into  the  South  German  states.     In  1671  over  seven  hundred 


SWITZERLAND  87 

persons,  men,  women  and  children,  including  some  old  men, 
eighty  and  ninety  years  of  age,  crossed  the  border  into  the 
Palatinate  and  surrounding  regions,  carrying  practically  all 
their  possessions  on  their  backs.  Here  these  exiles  endured 
great  hardships  for  a  number  of  years  because  of  their  pover- 
ty, in  spite  of  the  financial  aid  given  them  by  their  Dutch 
brethren  and  the  welcome  accorded  them  to  their  new  home 
by  Karl  Ludwig,  Count  Palatine,  who  had  invited  them  be- 
cause of  their  reputation  for  industry  to  settle  the  waste 
lands  in  his  territory  made  so  by  the  ravages  of  the  Thirty 
Years'  War. 

Not  all  the  Mennonites  left  Switzerland,  however,  dur- 
ing this  period.  The  exodus  of  large  numbers  of  those  most 
firm  in  their  convictions  during  the  sixties  and  seventies  un- 
doubtedly relieved  the  pressure  for  a  few  years,  but  soon  new 
mandates  were  passed  in  Bern  against  those  who  had  re- 
mained. In  1688  the  War  Council  suggested  that  militia 
musters  be  frequently  held,  that  all  men  be  required  to  wear 
swords  in  public  places,  and  that  oaths  of  allegiance  be  taken 
every  six  years.  Mennonites,  by  refusing  to  comply  with 
these  demands,  could  then  be  easily  identified.  In  1690  the 
Cantonal  Council  ordered  that  all  children  of  Mennonite  par- 
entage be  disinherited  unless  they  conform  to  the  State 
Church.  In  1695  the  fundamental  law  was  laid  down  that 
one's  usual  civil  obligations  could  not  be  evaded  because  of 
religious  views. 

Unfortunately  the  same  strong  spirit  of  individualism 
which  inspired  these  men  and  women  to  face  death  rather 
than  violate  their  religious  convictions  also  frequently  led 
them  to  hair-splitting  arguments  over  unimportant  questions 
of  faith  and  practise.  One  of  these  quarrels,  in  1693,  in  the 
Emmenthal  resulted  in  the  founding  of  what  is  known  as  the 
Amish  branch  of  the  church.  Jacob  Amman,  a  minister  in 
the  Emmenthal  congregation,  conceived  the  notion  that  the 
church  in  his  day  was  too  liberal  in  its  discipline.  The  quar- 
rel  seemed  to   concern   itself  largely  with    the    practise    of 


88  THE  MENNONITES 

"Avoidance"  or  "Shunning",  a  question  that  was  the  source 
of  much  misunderstanding  even  in  Menno's  day,  and  the 
cause  of  a  number  of  divisions  in  the  Netherlands  and  Ger- 
many. 

Church  discipline  was  maintained  at  this  time  through 
the  use  of  the  Ban  by  means  of  which  an  unfaithful  member 
was  denied  the  right  to  participate  in  the  communion  service. 
Amman  would  add  another  disciplinary  practise,  that  of 
"Avoidance".  The  Pauline  injunction,  "not  to  eat"  with  a 
disciplined  brother,  was  interpreted  as  applying  not  only  to 
religious  fellowship,  but  to  all  social,  business  and  even  do- 
mestic relationships  as  well.  Even  husband  and  wife,  if  one 
was  placed  under  the  Ban,  were  not  to  eat  at  the  same  table 
nor  sleep  in  the  same  bed.  This,  it  will  be  observed,  was 
not  a  new  practise,  but  was  defended  by  Dietrich  Philip  and 
Menno  Simons,  and  was  included  in  the  Dordrecht  Confes- 
sion of  Faith  which  had  been  adopted  by  the  Mennonites  of 
Alsace  in  1660,  and  which  has  since  become  the  recognized 
statement  of  doctrines  of  the  Amish  and  Old  Mennonites  of 
America. 

Amman  visited  the  various  congregations  in  the  Em- 
menthal  and  in  the  Jura  regions,  trying  to  impress  his  views 
upon  other  ministers  wherever  he  went.  He  soon  came  to 
regard  a  belief  in  "Shunning"  such  an  essential  part  of  one's 
religious  faith  that  he  placed  under  the  Ban  all  those  who 
disagreed  with  him  in  the  matter.  The  result  was  that  two 
factions  developed  throughout  the  Swiss  congregations  es- 
pecially in  the  Jura  Oberland,  one  called  the  "Ammansch" 
and  the  other  the  "Reist"  party  after  one  Hans  Reist,  the 
leader  of  the  more  liberal  group.  Quite  early  also  in  the 
controversy,  the  Amish  introduced  the  practise  of  feet- 
washing  in  connection  with  the  communion  service,  a  prac- 
tise not  common  in  the  Swiss  churches  at  that  time.  The 
whole  movement  was  one  toward  a  strict  observance  of  the 
older  customs,  a  sort  of  worship  of  the  past,  and  of  suspicion 
of  all  innovations  in  the  affairs  of  every-day  living  as  well  as 


5 


c/3 


o 


o 

X 

c 
n 

E 

E 
< 


SWITZERLAND  89 

in  forms  of  church  worship.  This  spirit  did  not  grow  mellow 
with  time.  The  old  was  seldom  discarded  for  the  new,  not 
even  in  styles  of  dress  as  they  changed  among  other  peo- 
ple from  time  to  time.  And  so  hooks  and  eyes  were  retained 
instead  of  buttons,  and  shoe-strings  instead  of  buckles  long 
after  these  customary  articles  of  dress  were  discarded  by 
their  more  progressive  brethren.  Beards  and  long  hair,  once 
a  convenient  custom,  came  to  have  a  religious  significance. 
Some  of  these  customs  have  been  perpetuated  to  the  present 
day  among  certain  groups  in  America. 

The  feeling  between  the  two  parties  grew  quite  bitter. 
In  1711,  while  Runkel,  the  emissary  of  the  Dutch  Govern- 
ment, was  directing  the  proposed  emigration  to  Holland  but 
few  of  the  Reist  party  could  be  persuaded  to  accompany  the 
expedition,  refusing  to  go  on  the  same  boats  with  the  Amish. 
Such  as  did  start  on  the  voyage  escaped  before  the  expedi- 
tion reached  its  destination.  The  division  also  spread  across 
the  borders  into  Alsace,  the  Palatinate  and  from  thence  to 
America.  Today  there  are  no  Amish  churches  in  Switzer- 
land but  there  are  several  small  groups  in  France  and  Alsace. 
Near  the  close  of  the  century  Amman  and  his  followers  tried 
to  become  reconciled  with  the  Reist  party,  but  the  latter  re- 
fused to  accept  the  offer  and  so  the  breach  has  remained  to 
this   day. 

In  the  meantime,  beginning  with  1709,  another  period  of 
persecution,  the  most  severe  for  many  years,  set  in.  By  this 
time  all  the  other  Cantons,  except  Zurich,  where  there  were 
still  a  few  scattered  settlements  up  to  1800,  had  practically 
exterminated  the  Mennonite  faith.  Now  the  Bernese  authori- 
ties also,  both  State  and  Church,  determined  to  drive  out  the 
Mennonites,  root  and  branch.  The  measures  adopted  thus 
far  had  not  proven  successful.  No  matter  with  what  punish- 
ment the  exiles  were  threatened,  they  repeatedly  returned  to 
be  with  their  families  or  end  their  days  in  their  beloved 
though  cruel  native  land.  Finally  both  the  Bernese  Govern- 
ment and  the  Baptist  Council,  a  special  committee  created  to 


90  THE  MENNONITES 

dispose  of  all  Mennonite  problems,  determined  upon  a  whole- 
sale deportation  of  the  prisoners  to  America  from  whence 
return  would  be  quite  unlikely. 

Arrangements  were  made  with  a  certain  Mr.  Ritter,  a 
colonization  agent,  to  deport  one  hundred  prisoners  for  which 
he  was  to  receive  the  sum  of  $500.00,  and  45.00  in  addition  for 
each  Mennonite  actually  landed  in  North  Carolina  where 
a  Swiss  settlement,  though  not  Mennonite,  had  already  been 
begun.  St.  Saphorin,  the  Swiss  ambassador  to  the  Dutch  Gov- 
ernment, was  requested  to  secure  free  passage  down  the 
Rhine  for  the  ship-load  of  exiles. 

Meanwhile  the  Dutch  Mennonites,  continuing  their  ef- 
forts in  behalf  of  their  Swiss  co-believers,  again  secured  the 
active  co-operation  of  the  Dutch  States  General  in  demand- 
ing a  more  tolerant  treatment  from  the  Government  at  Bern. 
After  hearing  a  report  on  the  conditions  in  Switzerland  made 
by  a  group  of  Palatine  Swiss,  composed  of  Benedict  Brecht- 
buhl,  Hans  Burchi  and  Melchior  Zahler,  the  States  General 
addressed  a  letter  to  Bern  in  which  they  again  spoke  highly 
of  the  Dutch  Mennonites,  and  refused  the  right  of  free  passage 
through  their  country  for  the  proposed  deportation.  As  to 
the  charges  made  by  the  Bernese  against  the  Mennonites  that 
the  latter  denied  government  to  be  a  divinely  ordained  insti- 
tution and  that  they  refused  to  take  the  oath  and  bear  arms, 
these  were  answered  by  the  Swiss  representatives  themselves 
before  the  Dutch  authorities.  Their  affirmation,  these  said, 
was  as  binding  as  an  oath  and  they  were  willing  to  support 
their  government  loyally;  and  in  war  were  willing  to  help 
build  defensive  fortifications  but  not  to  bear  arms. 

But  anticipating  the  consent  to  a  free  passage  down  the 
Rhine,  Bern  had  already  sent  a  group  of  fifty-seven  exiles 
toward  the  sea  board.  Twenty-seven  of  these,  weak  and  sick, 
had  been  left  at  Manheim  where  they  scattered  out  to  find 
refuge  among  their  kinsmen  in  those  regions,  while  the  re- 
maining thirty  disembarked  at  Nimwegen,  the  first  stop  with- 
in the  Dutch  border  where  they  were  cordially  received  and 


SWITZERLAND  91 

cared  for  by  the  Mennonite  congregation  in  that  city.  A  con- 
temporary writer  describes  these  Swiss  peasants  as  a  "sturdy 
people  by  nature  who  could  endure  hardship,  with  long  un- 
trimmed  beards,  with  plain  clothes,  and  heavy  shoes  shod 
with  heavy  iron  and  large  nails.  They  were  zealous  in  serv- 
ing God  with  prayer,  reading  and  in  other  ways.  They  were 
simple  in  their  bearing,  like  lambs  and  doves,  and  asked  me 
how  the  church  here  was  conducted.  We  could  speak  with 
them  only  with  difficulty,  for  they  had  lived  in  the  mountains 
of  Switzerland  far  from  villages  and  towns  and  had  little 
communication  with  other  people." 

Many  of  them  as  soon  as  they  had  regained  their  liberty, 
set  out  for  the  Palatinate  in  search  of  their  relatives  and  scat- 
tered members  of  their  families.  Some  returned  for  the  same 
purpose  to  Switzerland  where  later  they  were  again  forced  to 
repeat  their  experiences. 

Why  were  these  people  so  insistent  upon  returning  to 
their  former  homes?  Why  did  they  not  take  this  opportunity 
to  escape  from  their  persecutors?  As  has  just  been  suggest- 
ed, wives  and  children  sometimes  of  the  Reformed  faith, 
were  left  behind.  Neither  could  any  property  be  taken  out 
of  the  land  by  the  exiles.  Some  of  the  more  zealous,  too, 
were  concerned  that  the  faith  might  not  die  out  in  the  land 
of  its  beginning. 

Finally,  after  a  number  of  letters  had  been  written  back 
and  forth  between  the  Bern  authorities  and  the  Dutch  States 
General,  the  former  agreed  in  a  mandate  of  February,  1711, 
to  permit  the  Mennonites  to  leave  Switzerland  with  their 
families  for  either  Holland  or  Prussia  on  condition  that  they 
would  agree  never  to  return.  They  were  given  several  months 
in  which  to  dispose  of  their  property,  the  proceeds  of  which 
they  might  take  with  them  without  paying  the  usual  emigra- 
tion tax.  Those  in  prison,  about  fifty  in  number,  were  prom- 
ised their  freedom  on  bail.  Those  desiring  to  take  advantage 
of  these  terms  were  to  report  to  the  authorities  their  names 
and  an  inventory  of  their  property. 


92  THE  MENNONITES 

Johann  Runkel  was  appointed  as  the  representative  of 
the  Dutch  Government  to  take  charge  of  the  proposed  migra- 
tion. To  his  surprise  Runkel  found  considerable  difficulty 
in  enlisting  the  cooperation  of  the  Mennonites  in  the  move- 
ment. Their  experience  with  their  Government  in  the  past 
had  been  such  that  they  were  suspicious  of  the  motives  back 
of  this  changed  attitude.  The  Reist  party  especially  because 
of  the  strained  relations  with  the  Amish  refused  to  cooperate 
with  them.  Some  of  them  declared  that  Switzerland  was 
their  fatherland  and  no  one  had  a  right  to  drive  them  out. 
And  so,  most  of  the  1711  exiles  were  of  the  Amish  faction. 

Finally,  on  July  17,  1711,  about  three  hundred  and  forty 
exiles  left  Basel  for  Amsterdam  in  four  ships  that  had  been 
especially  constructed  for  the  purpose.  The  passengers  were 
not  to  leave  the  ships  until  they  had  reached  the  end  of  the 
voyage,  but  all  along  the  Rhine  individuals  dropped  off  to 
cast  their  lot  with  their  brethren  in  the  Palatinate,  or  even 
to  brave  the  hazards  of  a  return  to  their  native  hills  in  Switz- 
erland. Those  who  remained  with  the  expedition  reached 
Amsterdam  on  August  3,  where  they  were  cordially  received 
by  their  brethren  and  where  ample  provision  had  been  made 
for  their  temporary  needs. 

But  what  was  to  be  their  permanent  home?  During  the 
negotiations  of  the  past  year,  three  possibilities  had  been 
suggested :  America,  Prussia  and  Holland.  America  at  this 
time  was  given  little  consideration  by  this  group  although  a 
number  of  their  Palatine  brethren  had  already  formed  a  set- 
tlement in  Pennsylvania,  and  a  few  years  later,  some  of  the 
former,  too,  found  their  way  to  the  same  place.  Prussia  was 
considered  more  seriously.  The  king  of  Prussia  had  taken  a 
kindly  interest  in  the  Swiss  Mennonites  for  several  years. 
Realizing  the  valuable  contribution  the  Dutch  Mennonites 
had  made  toward  the  development  of  the  Vistula  swamps 
one  hundred  years  earlier,  he  visited  the  Swiss  refugees  at 
Amsterdam  and  invited  them  to  locate  in  East  Prussia  in  a 
section  which  had  been  largely  depopulated  several  years  be- 


SWITZERLAND  93 

fore  by  a  pestilence.  In  return  Benedict  Brechtbuhl  was  sent 
by  the  Swiss  to  interview  the  king  at  Berlin  and  investigate 
the  lands  in  question.  After  completing  his  mission  and  vis- 
iting the  Mennonites  at  Danzig  and  Elbing,  he  returned  to 
report  that  sixty  farms  of  thirty  acres  were  available  for  set- 
tlement. He  returned  too  late,  however,  for  the  Swiss  had 
already  departed  from  Amsterdam  for  other  parts  of  the 
Netherlands,  and  at  any  rate  they  were  not  enthusiastic 
about  locating  in  a  pest-ridden  waste.  Consequently  nearly 
all  of  them  remained  in  Holland,  locating  in  several  congre- 
gations near  Groningen.  Brechtbuhl  finally  induced  a  small 
number  to  try  East  Prussia  but  these  remained  only  a  short 
time. 

For  a  number  of  years  the  Swiss  congregations  in  Hol- 
land retained  their  identity  as  a  separate  group,  using  their 
own  language  and  maintaining  their  own  provincial  customs, 
and  were  a  source  of  curious  interest  to  their  more  modern 
Dutch  neighbors.  At  first  the  curiosity  of  the  Dutch  was 
so  great  that  often  the  police  had  to  keep  the  crowds  from  the 
doors  of  their  meeting  places  during  the  hours  of  worship. 

But  the  1711  emigration  did  not  end  the  story  of  Menno- 
nite  persecution  in  Bern.  As  already  suggested,  some  of  the 
exiles  returned  while  those  that  had  remained  were  threaten- 
ed with  dire  results  if  they  did  not  leave.  There  were  still 
about  one  hundred  families  left  who  refused  either  to  con- 
form or  be  driven  out.  Upon  these  now  the  Bernese  Gov- 
ernment turned  with  renewed  bitterness.  All  Mennonites 
were  again  ordered  to  be  cast  into  prison.  Rewards  were  of- 
fered for  their  arrest,  fifteen  crowns  for  a  woman,  thirty  for 
a  man,  and  one  hundred  for  a  minister.  Secret  meetings 
were  prohibited  and  no  one  was  permitted  to  give  Menno- 
nites any  assistance.  One  man  was  fined  $300  for  shielding 
his  own  wife.  Reformed  parents  must  disinherit  Mennonite 
children.  The  installation  of  a  minister  was  punishable 
with  a  heavy  fine.  Returned  exiles  were  threatened 
with  a  galley  sentence.     In   1715  and  again  in  1718  several 


94  THE  MENNONITES 

men  were  condemned  to  that  fate,  but  due  to  protests  from 
the  Dutch  States  General  and  even  the  Reformed  clergy,  the 
sentence  was  never  carried  out.  At  one  time  there  were  over 
forty  Mennonites  in  prison.  And  so  on  all  through  the  cen- 
tury, Mennonites  were  more  or  less  oppressed  by  State  and 
Church.  In  1734,  the  "Baptist  Council"  appointed  special 
agents  to  scour  the  country  for  Mennonites.  It  was  not  until 
the  close  of  the  century  when  the  liberalizing  influences  set 
in  motion  by  the  French  Revolution  made  themselves  felt 
throughout  Europe  that  democratic  Switzerland  reached  the 
state  of  religious  toleration  attained  by  the  Dutch  two  hun- 
dred years  earlier. 

In  1799  the  Helvetian  Republic  passed  an  act  of  tolera- 
tion granting  religious  liberty  to  every  faith,  and  permitting 
those  who  had  been  banished  for  the  sake  of  their  religious 
belief  to  return.  But  even  this  act  of  toleration,  while  it  end- 
ed active  persecution,  yet  it  did  not  place  the  Mennonite 
faith  on  an  equal  footing  with  the  State  Church.  Baptism 
and  marriage  were  still  regarded  as  civil  rites  to  be  adminis- 
tered by  a  state  Church.  In  1810  the  Emmenthal  congrega- 
tion requested  that  their  own  baptismal  and  marriage  cere- 
monies be  recognized  as  valid  and  sufficient.  But  the  author- 
ities refused  the  request,  and  the  next  year  all  Mennonite 
children  who  remained  unbaptized  since  1798,  twenty-seven 
in  all,  were  ordered  to  be  baptized  by  the  State  Church.  The 
Mennonites  could  rebaptize  them  if  they  desired,  the  authori- 
ties said,  and  they  might  also  repeat  their  marriage  cere- 
monies according  to  their  own  customs.  The  spirit  of  the 
times  was  growing  too  liberal,  however,  for  enforcing  such 
regulations.  When  the  Mennonites  refused  to  bring  their 
children  to  the  Reformed  churches  for  baptism,  they  were 
led  unwillingly  to  the  baptismal  font  by  the  police.  Even  the 
state  clergy  soon  came  to  recognize  this  procedure  as  a 
travesty  upon  religion  and  objected  to  its  continuation. 

Finally,  in  1815,  after  a  long  and  bitter  struggle  of  nearly 
three  hundred  years,  the  Mennonites  in  the  Canton  of  Bern 


SWITZERLAND  95 

were  granted  complete  religious  toleration  with  full  rights  of 
citizenship.  Instead  of  the  oath  a  handclasp  was  substituted. 
In  lieu  of  military  service  they  were  granted  the  right  of 
furnishing  money  for  a  substitute.  The  price  they  paid  for 
these  privileges,  however,  was  a  heavy  one.  During  the  cen- 
turies of  oppression  they  were  driven  into  out-of-the-way 
nooks  and  corners  of  the  uplands  and  hill  regions  where  the 
soil  was  so  poor  that  their  was  little  demand  for  it,  while  the 
years  of  humiliation  through  which  they  passed  engendered 
within  themselves  a  spirit  of  submissive  self-depreciation  from 
which  they  never  fully  recovered. 

Just  about  the  time  the  Swiss  were  granted  full  religious 
toleration  many  of  them  decided  to  emigrate  of  their  own  free 
choice  to  that  land  of  opportunity  to  which  their  ancestors 
refused  to  be  deported  one  hundred  years  earlier.  This  emi- 
gration to  America  during  the  early  part  of  the  last  century, 
not  only  of  the  Swiss,  but  also  of  the  French  and  South  Ger- 
man Mennonites  was  the  result  of  several  causes. 

Most  important  was  the  spirit  of  militarism  which  pre- 
vailed throughout  Europe  during  the  Napoleonic  wars,  and 
the  feeling  of  unrest  following  the  wars,  which  the  Menno- 
nites feared  would  break  out  in  further  conflicts  and  ulti- 
mately make  it  impossible  for  them  to  maintain  their  non- 
resistant  principles.  In  some  cases  equally  as  strong  a  fac- 
tor was  the  economic  pressure.  The  Swiss  especially  were 
decidedly  poor.  As  just  suggested  they  usually  lived  on 
the  barren  and  shady  sides  of  the  hills  and  gulleys  in  the 
uplands.  Most  of  them  were  small  farmers,  those  in  the 
Jura  regions  being  tenants  on  long  term  leases,  because  when 
invited  to  settle  here  by  the  Bishop  of  Basel  they  were  not 
permitted  to  buy  land.  Many  were  not  even  able  to  own  a 
horse,  but  performed  their  field  labor  by  hand,  sometimes  as- 
sisted by  the  family  cow.  A  goodly  number  were  forced  to 
practise  some  sort  of  avocation  such  as  weaving,  shoemaking 
or  cabinet  making  in  addition  to  their  regular  farming  in 
order  to  make  a  living.     Families  were  large.     Just  at  this 


96  THE  MENNONITES 

time,  from  1815  to  1820,  times  were  especially  hard.  As  a  re- 
sult of  the  long  war  prices  were  high.  Rents  were  increasing. 
Black  bread  and  potatoes  had  been  the  only  food  for  many. 
Meat  could  be  had  only  on  special  occasions.  Even  butter 
and  eggs  were  rare,  but  now  a  few  crop  failures  reduced  many 
of  the  poorer  people  to  actual  want.  One  of  the  early  emi- 
grants to  America,  somewhat  of  a  rhymester,  wrote  a  bit  of 
verse  describing  the  poverty  of  the  Swiss,  one  stanza  of 
which  reads : 

"Hier  in  dem  Schweizerland, 

Wie  Allen  ist  bekannt, 

Hoert  man  viel  Klagen ; 

Weil  so  viel  arme  Luet, 

Die  z'  keine  Zuete  nuet 

Heu  z'  saeme  tragen." 

These  were  the  conditions  that  made  the  Swiss  at  this  time 
turn  their  eyes  toward  America,  the  land  of  promise. 

The  Swiss  pioneer  who  led  the  way  to  America  was 
one  Benedict  Schrag  who  in  1817,  settled  in  Wayne  county, 
Ohio.  He  was  followed  before  1860  by  many  others  from 
Bern  who  located  in  several  large  colonies  in  Wayne,  Put- 
nam and  Allen  counties,  Ohio,  and  in  Adams  county,  Indiana. 

It  was  during  the  time  of  this  emigration,  too,  that  an- 
other church  quarrel  arose  resulting  in  the  creation  of  a  new 
sect  known  as  the  "Neu-Taufer".  This  sect  was  organized 
by  a  Samuel  Froehlich  between  1832  and  1835  in  the  Canton 
of  Argau  and  in  the  Emmenthal.  Froehlich  had  been  a  theo- 
logical student,  but  being  cast  out  of  the  State  Church  in 
1832,  he  began  to  organize  a  church  of  his  own.  It  was  while 
he  was  engaged  in  this  work  that  he  visited  the  Emmenthal 
congregation  in  the  interests  of  his  enterprise,  where  he  met 
with  some  encouragement  from  two  men  who  had  been  fost- 
ering a  quarrel  in  their  own  church  —  Samuel  Gerber  and 
Christian  Baumgartner.  Gerber,  especially,  who  had  recent- 
ly been  installed  as  minister  of  the  Emmenthal  congregation 
by  the  elders  of  the  Jura  church,  was  ambitious  to  play  an  im- 


bo 

c 


a. 


3 


o 

u 


SWITZERLAND  97 

portant  role  in  his  circle.  Accusing  his  fellow  ministers 
of  a  lack  of  religious  zeal  and  an  absence  of  spiritual 
life,  he  introduced  a  series  of  innovations  in  his  charge  con- 
trary to  the  rules  of  the  church.  Thus  the  soil  was  well  pre- 
pared for  a  division.  Froehlich,  who  had  a  small  following 
of  State  Church  members  in  Argau  was  soon  compelled  to 
leave  the  Emmenthal  due  to  pressure  from  the  police  offi- 
cials. He  soon  sent  a  representative,  however,  in  the  person 
of  a  disciple  of  his,  George  Steiger  by  name.  Steiger  took 
advantage  of  the  local  quarrel  and  invited  the  disaffected  to 
join  the  Froehlich  following.  Gerber,  Baumgartner  and  oth- 
ers who  had  already  been  celebrating  the  communion  serv- 
ice among  themselves  every  Sunday,  hesitated  to  accept  the 
invitatic-n,  because  Steiger  now  declared  their  old  faith  to  be 
a  dead  faith,  and  consequently  all  who  joined  the  new  move- 
ment would  need  to  submit  to  rebaptism  by  immersion.  This 
was  rather  humiliating  to  men  who  had  all  along  assumed  a 
superior  piety  among  their  fellows.  They  finally  submitted, 
however,  and  in  the  course  of  a  few  months  Steiger  won  over 
about  sixty  members  from  the  Emmenthal  church  including 
several  Amish,  and  about  an  equal  number  from  the  State 
Church. 

The  new  sect  early  developed  an  air  of  superior  sanctity 
and  a  spirit  of  seclusiveness.  Salvation  was  possible  only 
through  the  avenues  of  their  church.  All  others  belonged  to 
the  "world"  with  whom  there  was  to  be  no  religious  fellow- 
ship whatever.  At  first  meetings  were  held  every  night  after 
supposedly  apostolic  example.  Communion  was  administer- 
ed every  Sabbath  morning,  while  religious  services  were  held 
in  the  afternoon.  To  the  government  they  owed  no  allegi- 
ance except  to  pay  their  taxes  and  naturally  they  could  hold 
no  civil  office.  This  was  evidently  the  Mennonite  contribu- 
tion to  the  new  body.  "Salute  no  man  by  the  way,"  was 
observed  literally,  especially  when  they  met  members  of  the 
church  from  which  they  had  withdrawn.  They  bitterly  de- 
nounced the  old  church  and  ridiculed  the  preachers  as  "Bab- 

4  •     j  3!  :■! 


98  THE  MENNONITES 

lers,  Preachers  of  a    dead  faith,"  etc.,  and  the  members  were 
all  "spiritually  dead". 

Apostles  of  the  new  sect  carried  the  division  to  America 
among  their  relatives  and  acquaintances  there.  In  1846  sev- 
eral came  to  Ohio  where  they  established  a  small  group  of 
"Neu-Taufer",  and  later  they  appeared  in  New  York  and 
Illinois  among  the  Ami&h  where  they  are  now  locally  known 
as  "New  Amish". 

As  a  result  of  these  long  years  of  persecution  which 
drove  many  of  the  Swiss  Mennonites  into  exile,  and  numbers 
back  into  the  state  Church;  the  emigration  to  America  in  the 
early  part  of  the  century ;  and  the  defection  of  the  new 
sect,  the  Swiss  Mennonites  were  greatly  reduced  in  number. 
The  total  Mennonite  population  in  Switzerland  is  about  fifteen 
hundred,  mostly  in  the  Canton  of  Bern  in  two  settlements, — the 
Emmenthal  and  a  group  of  congregations  in  the  Jura  district, 
west  of  Biel.  The  largest  congregations  are  those  of  the  Em- 
menthal, near  Langnau,  embracing  three  hundred  souls,  and 
of  the  Sonnenberg  in  the  Jura  with  about  four  hundred  in- 
habitants. There  is  a  small  congregation  near  Basel,  and 
another  across  the  Bernese  boundaries  in  the  Canton  of 
Neufchatel. 

This  remnant  of  a  faithful  people  is  today  hardly  more 
than  holding  its  own  in  the  land  where  their  faith  had  its  be- 
ginning. The  Swiss  Mennonites  are  still  mostly  small  farm- 
ers, not  wealthy,  living  for  the  most  part  on  land  held  by  a 
long  lease  in  the  backlands  to  which  they  had  been  driven 
years  ago.  Until  within  recent  years,  they  had  no  meeting 
houses,  and  even  now  meetings  are  frequqently  held  in  private 
houses.  Living  far  apart  they  often  walk  many  miles  to 
church,  and  for  this  reason  the  member  in  whose  home  the 
meeting  is  held  invites  all  present  to  remain  for  dinner  after 
the  meeting.  This  custom  of  serving  dinner  after  a  meet- 
ing is  retained  even  in  places  where  they  have  houses  of  wor- 
ship.    Living  isolated  and  secluded  lives,  the  Swiss  Menno- 


SWITZERLAND  99 

nites  until   quite   recently  were   exceedingly  conservative   in 
matters  of  dress  and  other  customs. 

Having  no  meeting  houses  at  the  time  of  the  American 
emigration  they  held  religious  services  throughout  the  circuits 
in  the  large  barns  which  were  built  close  to  the  house,  or 
in  the  open  air  when  the  season  and  weather  permitted.  Sing- 
ing was  "ein-stimmig",  and  the  Ausbund  with  its  thirty- 
stanza  hymns  was  still  the  accepted  song  book.  Conservative 
customs  and  old  styles  of  dress  were  still  in  vogue.  Men 
wore  short  coats,  knee  breeches,  hooks  and  eyes,  and  long 
beards,  but  mustaches  were  not  permitted,  perhaps  because 
of  their  military  appearance  and  significance.  The  women 
vied  with  the  men  in  the  simplicity  of  their  clothes.  No 
adornments  of  any  sort  were  permitted.  All  worldly  vanities 
were  discouraged,  even  looking  glasses  being  tabooed.  Rut 
according  to  a  writer  of  the  time,  the  fair  young  mountain 
maidens  lost  none  of  their  charm  by  substituting  for  forbid- 
den silk  ribbons  and  flowers  and  feathers,  ingeniously  woven 
straw  figures  in  the  straw  hats  which  they  set  jauntily  upon 
their  heads.  The  same  writer,  a  well  known  German  author, 
after  a  visit  through  the  Mennonite  communities  pays  these 
people  a  high  tribute.  He  speaks  of  them  as  "a  strong,  sturdy 
race,  true-hearted,  peace-loving,  conscientious  and  be- 
nevolent, loved  by  all  their  neighbors,  Catholics  and  Protes- 
tants alike.  They  live  a  life  of  such  patriarchial  simplicity 
that  one  must  love  them.  Among  them  are  found  no  drunk- 
ards, no  gamblers,  no  loafers,  no  liars,  no  jealous  neighbors. 
If  perchance  strife  should  arise  among  them,  it  is  amicably 
settled  by  their  elder.  They  help  each  other  in  busy  seasons, 
generally  without  pay.  Their  temperate,  moderate  habits, 
assure  them  good  health  and  long  lives.  Their  conduct  seems 
to  be  prompted  by  the  one  thought,  'Keep  God  continually 
before  your  eyes.'  " 

Many  of  these  conservative  customs  of  three  quarters  of  a 
century  ago  have  since  been  discarded.  But  in  the  funda- 
mentals the  Swiss  Mennonites  have  not  changed  during  re- 


100  THE  MENNONITES 

cent  years.  They  still  lead  rather  an  isolated  life  and  may  be 
said  to  be  decidedly  conservative  in  spirit.  They  are  still 
nonresistant  and  are  permitted  by  the  Swiss  Government  to 
perform  non-combatant  service.  They  wear  the  uniform  when 
in  training  and  a  small  sword  as  a  sign  of  their  profession, 
but  do  not  carry  a  gun.  They  do  not  practise  feet-washing 
as  a  church  ordinance,  a  practise  confined  to  the  Amish  who 
have  since  all  left  the  land. 

Of  organized  institutional  life  there  is  very  little.  They 
have  no  schools  for  training  their  ministers,  being  too  few 
in  number  to  maintain  such  an  institution.  Ministers  are 
still  selected  by  lot  and  require  no  special  training  for  their 
service.  Although  they  have  no  missions  of  their  own,  they 
support  other  societies  and  have  furnished  some  men  and 
women  for  active  work.  The  churches  meet  annually  in  a 
separate  conference.  Their  church  paper,  the  "Zions-Pilger", 
was  founded  in  1882,  by  two  enterprising  young  men,  — 
Samuel  Baehler  and  Johann  Kipfer.  It  was  a  small  four-page 
weekly  and  in  recent  years  did  not  seem  to  have  much  dis- 
tinctive Mennonite  moulding  influence.  It  has  recently  lost 
such  Mennonite  character  as  it  once  had  by  merging  with  an 
Evangelical  publication,  and  it  is  now  called  "Der  Freie  Zeu- 
ge,"  and  is  published  at  Langnau  by  Meili  and  Cuyper.  In 
fact  there  are  those  who  feel  that  in  course  of  time,  due  to 
the  small  numbers,  lack  of  leadership  and  institutional  life, 
the  Mennonites  will  entirely  lose  their  identity  and  will  be 
swallowed  up  by  the  Evangelicals  who  already  exercise  con- 
siderable influence  among  them. 

A  man  of  strong  influence  among  the  Swiss  Mennonites 
during  the  last  century  was  Ulrich  Steiner,  affectionately 
referred  to  as  "Steiner  Uli"  in  approved  Swiss  fashion.  He 
was  born  in  1806  in  Trachselwald,  and  in  1830  as  a  young 
man  was  elected  to  the  ministry  by  lot.  Five  years  later  he 
was  ordained  as  an  elder.  For  many  years  he  was  the  spirit- 
ual adviser  of  the  scattered  members,  traveling  extensively  in 
the  interests  of  the  church.    His  work  was  especially  arduous 


JOHANN  KIPFER,  Langnau,  Switzerland. 
Editor  "Freie   Zeuge,"  formerly  "Zions   Pilger." 


SWITZERLAND  101 

during  the  "Neu-Taufer"  controversy.  He  is  the  author  of  a 
small  booklet,  at  one  time  frequently  seen  on  the  book-shelves 
of  the  American  Swiss  Mennonites,  "Angenehme  Stunden  in 
Zion".     He  died  in  1877,  seventy  years  old. 

Switzerland  was  the  source  both  directly  and  indirectly 
of  many  of  the  Mennonite  and  Amish  settlements  in  Ameri- 
ca. The  early  settlers  in  Lancaster  county,  Pennsylvania,  in 
the  early  eighteenth  century,  by  way  of  the  Palatinate ;  the 
Amish  in  Illinois,  Ohio,  New  York  and  Canada  in  the  nine- 
teenth century  by  way  of  Alsace,  Lorraine  and  South  Ger- 
many, as  well  as  the  Swiss  who  came  directly  from  the  father- 
land to  Ohio  and  Indiana  during  the  same  period  were  all  of 
Swiss  origin.  The  following  family  names  wherever  found  to- 
day in  America  in  Amish  and  Mennonite  communities  are  all 
Swiss,  mainly  originally  from  Bern  and  Zurich,  though  sev- 
eral other  Cantons  are  also  represented.  In  the  following  list 
no  attempt  is  made  to  maintain  the  original  Swiss  spelling, 
but  rather  to  give  their  names  as  they  now  appear  in  America. 
The  early  Pennsylvania  names  of  course  appear  considerably 
Anglisized  as  do  also  many  of  the  Illinois  Amish.  The  later 
immigrants  to  Ohio  and  Indiana  from  Switzerland  direct  are 
more  likely  to  retain  their  original  spelling.  Where  different 
American  spellings  occur  for  the  same  name  only  one  is  given 
here.  The  list  follows :  Allebach,  Althaus,  Amstutz,  Augs- 
burger,  Albrecht,  Ackerman,  Bachman,  Brubaker,  Bertsche, 
Bowman,  Bomberger,  Baer,  Brenneman,  Bixel,  Bechler, 
Baumgartner,  Basinger,  Burcky,  Brand,  Becker,  Biery,  Beid- 
ler,  Blaser,  Boshart,  Burghalter,  Bucher,  Brackbill,  Christen- 
erj,  Dirstein,  Detweiler,  Diller,  Eby,  Ebersole,  Eiman,  Ellen- 
berger,  Egly,  Engel,  Eschbach,  Eicher,  Eschleman,  Funck, 
Fahrney,  Flickinger,  Frey,  Fellman,  Gehman,  Gerber,  Gun- 
ther,  Gnaegi,  Guth,  Graber,  Geiger,  Guengrich,  Hess,  Horn- 
ing, Haldeman,  Hiestand,  Habegger,  Huber,  Hostetler,  Hart- 
man,  Hodel,  Hauri,  Herr,  Hauter,  Hirschler,  Hilty,  Hirschy, 
Hunsinger,  Imhoff,  Ioder,  Ingold,  Kendig,  Krehbil,  Kennel, 
Kaufman,  Landis,  Longenecker,  Luginbill,  Leatherman,  Leh- 


102  THE  MENNONITES 

man,  Litwiller,  Lichty,  Meili,  Metzler,  Maurer,  Moser,  Mosi- 
man,  Musselman,  Newcommer,  Neuenschwander,  Nussbaum, 
Neuhauser,  Neff,  Oberholtzer,  Oberli,  Oesch,  Plank,  Risser, 
Rich,  Reist,  Reber,  Rohrer,  Roetlisberger,  Rupp,  Roth, 
Roeschli,  Ramseir,  Schlegel,  Shenk,  Strickler,  Schope,  Schrag, 
Schneck,  Steiner,  Stutzman,  Sprunger,  Speicher,  Shallenber- 
ger,  Steinman,  Stucki,  Sommer,  Stalter,  Schertz,  Schantz, 
Schlatter,  Stoll,  Sweitzer,  Suter,  Stauffer,  Schmutz,  Snavely, 
Streit,  Schlabach,  Showalter,  Schoenauer,  Troyer,  Thierstein, 
Thut,  Verckler,  Welty,  Wenger,  Wisler,  Whitmer,  Wuthrich, 
Yordy,  Zuercher,  Zeiset,  Zook. 


GERMANY  103 


CHAPTER  V 

GERMANY 
I.    Prussia. 

West  Prussia.  Modern  Prussia  as  a  political  entity  was 
not  in  existence  in  the  sixteenth  century.  What  was  then 
known  as  Prussia  was  a  small  duchy  east  of  the  Vistula, 
now  the  province  of  East  Prussia.  What  is  now  the  province 
of  West  Prussia  west  of  the  Vistula,  and  including  the  delta 
of  that  river  was  then  a  part  of  the  kingdom  of  Poland.  The 
duke  of  East  Prussia  had  turned  Lutheran  in  1525,  but  the 
kings  of  Poland  remained  Catholic  throughout  the  century. 
They  remained  tolerant,  however,  toward  religious  dissent- 
ers, and  Polish  Prussia  early  became  an  asylum  for  religious 
refugees.  Dutch  and  Moravian  Anabaptists  had  found  shel- 
ter near  Danzig  as  early  as  1530.  In  the  years  immediately 
following,  and  especially  as  a  result  of  the  fierce  persecutions 
in  the  Netherlands  during  the  middle  of  the  century,  Menno- 
nites  came  in  large  numbers  by  way  of  the  East  Sea  coast, 
and  settled  by  permission  of  the  Polish  king  and  upon  the 
invitation  of  owners  of  waste  and  swamp  lands  along  the 
lowlands  of  the  Vistula  and  the  Nogat  rivers,  in  the  vicinity 
of  Danzig  and  Elbing.  The  Dutch  Mennonites  were  experts 
in  the  art  of  reclaiming  swamp  lands  by  means  of  dikes  and 
canals,  and  so  because  of  their  economic  worth  they  were  giv- 
en a  hearty  welcome  where  otherwise  they  might  have  expect- 
ed only  serious  religious  persecution.  The  first  colonies  located 
upon  the  ecclesiastical  estates  of  Schottland  and  Schidlitz 
near  Danzig  and  at  Elbing.  Among--  the  noblemen  ownine;    es- 


104  THE  MENNONITES 

tates  along  the  lowlands  were  two  brothers,  Hans  and  Simon 
von  Loysen.  Upon  their  estates  at  Tiegenhof  they  settled  a 
number  of  Dutch  Mennonite  families,  who  in  course  of  time 
converted  these  hitherto  useless  swamps  into  the  most  produc- 
tive fields  of  all  Poland.  These  estates  were  leased  to  the  Men- 
nonites  by  successive  owners  for  thirty  and  forty  year  periods 
until  finally  the  latter  came  into  complete  possession  of  them. 
Groups  of  Mennonites  also  located  farther  up  the  river  in 
the  region  of  Marienwerder,  Graudenz,  Schwetz,  Culm  and 
Thorn.  While  the  lowland  congregations  were  composed 
largely  of  Dutch  refugees,  among  the  inland  colonies  there 
was  a  more  liberal  sprinkling  of  German,  Moravian  and  Swiss 
elements. 

The  churches  in  these  regions  as  well  as  those  in  East 
Prussia  were  frequently  visited  and  served  by  Menno  Simons 
himself,  who  when  he  was  forced  to  leave  Cologne  in  1549 
made  Wismar  in  Holstein  the  headquarters  for  his  extensive 
labors  throughout  the  East  Sea  region.  In  1549  he  wrote  a 
letter  to  "the  church  in  Prussia".  His  closest  friend,  Dirck 
Philip,  was  one  of  the  first  resident  elders  in  Danzig,  re- 
maining there  until  he  left  for  his  former  home  in  Emden 
in  1570. 

Both  factions,  Frisian  and  Flemish,  were  represented 
among  the  Dutch  Mennonite  colonists.  The  Frisians  being 
mostly  farmers,  settled  in  the  open  country,  while  the  Flem- 
ish more  often  located  in  the  towns. 

These  refugees  were  guaranteed  among  other  privileges 
religious  toleration  as  one  of  the  conditions  of  their  settle- 
ment along  the  Vistula.  At  first,  living  in  isolated  groups  on 
lands  hitherto  but  sparsely  populated,  they  were  able  to  live 
a  quiet  and  unmolested  life.  But  in  time  as  they  grew  in 
numbers  and  became  prosperous,  both  in  the  country  and  in 
town,  native  citizens  became  jealous  of  the  prosperity  of 
these  thrifty  and  sober  Dutch  farmers  and  artisans,  speaking 
a  foreign  tongue  and  practising  a  proscribed  religion.  They 
were  no  longer  being  burned  at  the  stake  nor  even  imprison- 


Mennonite    Church,   Montau,   Prussia. 


GERMANY  105 

ed,  to  be  sure,  as  was  being  done  in  other  states,  but  they 
were  frequently  hampered  in  the  free  exercise  of  their  reli- 
gion, and  were  not  immediately  granted  full  rights  of  citizen- 
ship. As  early  as  1550,  citizens  of  Elbing  complained  to  the 
Polish  king  that  "these  Anabaptists  are  taking  the  bread  out 
of  our  mouths",  whereupon  the  king  hastily  concluded  to 
order  them  out  of  town  within  fourteen  days.  A  few  of  them 
left,  but  the  town  council  interfering  in  their  behalf,  the 
order  was  never  rigidly  carried  out.  A  little  later  the  clergy, 
too,  added  their  voice  of  protest,  and  the  order  for  exile  was 
repeated,  but  again  delayed.  After  postponing  the  time  for 
its  execution  a  number  of  times,  it  was  finally  forgotten.  In 
Danzig,  the  Mennonites  had  a  similar  experience.  In  1572 
the  king  was  induced  to  sign  an  order  requesting  them  to 
leave  the  land,  but  the  Catholic  bishop  whose  estates  they 
had  brought  to  a  high  state  of  development  interfered  in 
their  behalf  and  the  order  was  not  carried  out. 

In  1676,  after  the  settlements  at  Tiegenhof  and  the  delta 
region  had  suffered  heavy  losses  from  broken  dikes,  the  Prince 
of  Pomerellen  accused  the  Mennonites  in  the  Marienburg 
Landtag  of  being  the  cause  of  the  catastrophe.  God  was 
punishing  Danzig,  "the  nest  of  the  Mennonite  sect,"  he  said 
for  tolerating  them  within  her  jurisdiction.  He  brought  a 
number  of  noblemen  to  his  way  of  thinking,  who  attempted 
to  force  through  an  order  for  exile.  The  Marienburg  delegate, 
however,  realizing  the  value  of  Mennonite  farmers  to  the 
country,  appeared  in  their  behalf.  "One  can  easily  tell,"  he 
said,  "whether  a  lazy,  drunken  farmer  tills  the  soil  or  a  sober, 
industrious  Mennonite.  Rather  invite  more  of  them  than  to 
drive  out  those  already  here."  Far  into  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury attempts  were  often  made  by  jealous  neighbors  and 
fanatical  clergymen  to  harry  the  Mennonites  out  of  the  land. 
But  city  councils,  knowing  the  worth  of  industrious  Flemish 
artisans,  and  both  secular  and  ecclesiastical  noblemen  whose 
lands  had  been  brought  to  a  high  state  of  productivity  by 
skilled  Frisian  tenant  farmers  usually  succeeded   in   thwart- 


106  THE  MENNONITES 

ing  those  demanding  exile.  And  so,  while  the  Mennonites 
of  West  Prussia  lived  continually  under  the  fear  of  banish- 
ment, the  threat  was  never  rigidly  carried  out. 

One  of  the  results  of  the  .experience  at  the  Marienburg 
Landtag  was  a  special  letter  of  protection  issued  by  the  king, 
John  Sobieski  III.,  in  1678.  The  Polish  kings  in  the  main, 
unless  pressed  by  special  interests,  maintained  the  promises 
at  first  made  to  the  original  settlers,  and  guarded  their  priv- 
ileges. These  privileges  were  frequently  confirmed  by  suc- 
cessive kings.  A  typical  confirmation  is  that  in  the  charter 
granted  in  1732  by  August  II.  This  charter  renews  the  guar- 
antees given  by  former  kings  in  1650,  1660,  1694,  and  1699, 
and  promises  the  Mennonites  all  the  rights  they  had  been 
granted  in  the  beginning,  including  the  right  to  worship  in 
their  public  houses,  to  have  their  own  schools  and  teachers, 
to  baptize  and  bury  their  dead  in  their  own  cemeteries. 

Occasionally  Mennonites,  like  Jews,  were  threatened 
with  oppression  by  government  officials  for  the  purpose  of 
exacting  money  from  them.  In  1642  Willibald  von  Haxberg, 
minister  of  King  Wladislaw  IV,  convinced  the  king  that  the 
Mennonites  had  been  the  cause  of  great  financial  loss  to  the 
merchants  of  Danzig  and  Elbing,  and  for  that  reason  their 
property  should  be  confiscated.  The  king  authorized  Hax- 
berg to  seize  the  property.  Despairing  perhaps  of  securing 
the  entire  possessions  of  the  Mennonites,  the  wily  minister 
promised  to  leave  them  undisturbed  in  the  former  privileges 
upon  payment  of  certain  ransom  money.  The  Mennonites 
vainly  appealed  to  their  former  charters.  Threatened  by  mil- 
itary force,  they  yielded.  Haxberg  received  about  $50,000 
from  the  country  churches  and  a  smaller  amount  from  those 
in  Danzig  and  Elbing.  The  Provincial  Estates  appealed  to 
the  king  in  their  behalf,  whereupon  the  king  gave  them  a  new 
charter  of  privileges,  reconfirming  their  old  rights,  but 
whether  the  money  was  returned  is  not  certain.  As  late  as 
1750,  the  merchants  of  Danzig  secured  an  order  from  the 
king     demanding    that     the  Mennonites     close     their     shops 


GERMANY  107 

and  places  of  business.  On  the  side,  however,  they  were  giv- 
en to  understand  that  they  might  avoid  the  calamity  upon  the 
payment  of  a  certain  sum  of  money  to  the  needy  and  greedy 
king.  Upon  being  told  by  the  Mennonites  that  they  were 
not  able  to  bear  any  further  financial  burden  because  of  re- 
cent heavy  war  contributions,  the  king  suggested  that  they 
might  receive  help  from  their  prosperous  brethren  in  the 
Netherlands.  The  suggestion  was  taken,  but  the  help  re- 
ceived from  the  Dutch  was  not  exactly  the  kind  expected. 
Both  the  Amsterdam  Chamber  of  Commerce  and  the  State- 
General  where  the  Dutch  Mennonites  had  great  influence,  in- 
terceded in  behalf  of  the  Danzig  church  for  fair  play,  but 
refused  to  be  blackmailed  by  the  king.  The  king  was  ob- 
stinate, however,  and  it  was  only  by  the  financial  aid  of  their 
German  brethren  that  the  Danzig  Mennonites  were  able  to 
make  up  the  heavy  contribution,  and  thus  were  again  per- 
mitted to  open  up  their  places  of  business. 

These  various  charters  of  privileges  did  not  all  specific- 
ally mention  exemption  from  military  service  as  one  of  the 
early  privileges,  but  it  undoubtedly  was  one  of  the  condi- 
tions >of  the  first  settlements.  In  fact,  military  exemption 
was  not  confined  to  Mennonites,  but  frequently  rulers  would 
offer  it  as  an  inducement  to  any  industrious  foreigners  whom 
they  wished  to  occupy  their  unsettled  lands.  Mennonites 
were  not  forced  into  the  army  in  West  Prussia,  but  were 
sometimes  asked  to  substitute  non-combatant  service.  At  the 
siege  of  Danzig,  in  1734,  they  were  set  the  task  of  guarding 
the  town  against  the  firebrands  sent  into  it  by  the  besiegers, 
a  task  they  performed  successfully.  Frequently,  too,  Men- 
nonites were  compelled  to  furnish  and  pay  for  substitutes. 
Sometimes  exemption  money  was  demanded.  In  1749  in 
Danzig,  the  sum  was  set  at  5,000  gulden  for  the  churches  in 
that  region. 

In  1772,  West  Prussia  was  united  with  East  Prussia  un- 
der Frederick  the  Great,  and  from  that  time  the  Mennonites 


108  THE  MENNONITES 

had  a  common  history  in  these  two  provinces  as  regards  their 
relation  to  the  State. 

East  Prussia.  In  East  Prussia,  too,  Anabaptists  were 
found  early  in  the  sixteenth  century,  before  Menno  Simons 
appeared  in  these  regions.  As  early  as  1535,  edicts  were  pub- 
lished against  them.  The  earliest  colonies  were  found  near 
Konigsberg.  In  1579  Mennonites  asked  permission  of  Duke 
George  Frederick  to  locate  within  the  city,  but  refusing  to 
conform  to  the  doctrines  and  practises  of  the  established 
Lutheran  church  they  were  denied  the  request,  and  it  was 
not  until  early  in  the  eighteenth  century  that  they  established 
a  congregation  within  the  city  proper.  These  came  principal- 
ly from  Danzig  with  which  city  Konigsberg  had  considerable 
commercial  intercourse.  The  Mennonites  of  these  regions 
were  never  very  numerous  as  compared  with  those  of  West 
Prussia. 

When  the  duchy  became  a  kingdom  in  1701,  the  first 
king,  Frederick  I.,  was  desirous  of  finding  settlers  for  the  re- 
gion along  the  Niemen  river  in  Lithuania  where  a  recent 
pestilence  had  swept  off  nearly  one-half  of  the  Lithuanian 
population.  It  was  at  this  time,  in  1711,  that  the  Swiss  Menno- 
nites were  being  driven  out  of  Bern.  To  these,  the  king  sent  a 
special  invitation  and  offered  special  inducements  to  settle  in 
his  kingdom.  Although  a  committee  of  Swiss  had  reported  un- 
favorably upon  the  lands,  a  small  group  located  near  Tilsit. 
These  the  king  furnished  with  necessary  farm  equipment  and 
also  granted  them  religious  toleration  including  military  ex- 
emption. In  1713  a  small  group  also  came  from  Danzig  to 
whom  the  same  privileges  were  granted. 

These  promises  were  sometimes  forgotten  by  later  kings. 
When,  in  1723,  the  recruiting  agents  of  Frederick  William  I. 
seized  five  likely  young  Mennonites  for  service  in  his  famous 
Potsdam  guards,  the  Mennonites  in  the  Tilsit  settlement  in- 
formed the  king  that  if  their  privileges  were  revoked  they 
would  be  obliged  to  leave  the  land.  The  king  was  so  dis- 
pleased with  this   reminder  that  he   forthwith   ordered  them 


GERMANY  109 

banished.  A  number  found  refuge  for  a  time  with  their 
brethren  in  Polish  Prussia,  but  later  were  able  to  return.  In 
1732  the  clergy  again  secured  an  edict  banishing  about  one 
hundred  families  on  the  charge  of  Socinianism.  These  found 
their  way  to  the  Netherlands.  Upon  the  intercession  of  the 
Dutch  Government  and  important  commercial  interests  in 
Prussia,  the  order  was  recalled,  and  the  Mennonites  were 
permitted  to  remain  on  condition  that  they  would  establish 
woolen  mills  in  their  settlement,  since  they  were  reputed  to 
be  especially  skilled  weavers.  Most  of  the  Tilsit  colonists, 
however,  about  six  hundred  in  all,  had  already  left  their  homes 
for  Polish  Prussia.  With  the  accession  of  the  tolerant  and 
liberal  Frederick  the  Great  in  1740,  religious  oppression  for 
the  time  being  ceased,  and  Mennonites  were  permitted  to  re- 
side anywhere  within  his  dominion  without  molestation. 

As  already  stated,  the  Mennonites  of  the  two  Prussias 
came  principally  from  the  Netherlands.  Social  and  religious 
intercourse  was  kept  up  with  the  mother  church  for  many 
years,  and  Dutch  remained  the  language  in  which  religious 
services  were  conducted  until  near  the  close  of  the  eighteenth 
century.  Shut  out  from  outside  influences  by  locating  in  isola- 
ted colonies,  they  departed  little  from  their  early  prac- 
tises and  customs.  The  city  churches  made  more  progress, 
of  course,  than  those  in  the  country.  In  the  former,  minis- 
ters in  the  late  seventeenth  and  early  eighteenth  centuries 
were  frequently  imported  from  the  Netherlands  and  had  some 
training  for  their  calling,  but  in  the  country  they  were  selected 
by  lot  from  among  their  own  number  without  reference  to 
special  qualifications  other  than  that  they  were  usually  cho- 
sen from  among  the  more  prosperous  members  since  they 
were  given  no  financial  support  by  the  membership  at  large. 
Ministers  were  of  three  classes  —  elders,  preachers  and 
deacons.  The  elders  differed  from  the  mere  preacher  in  pow- 
er in  that  he  only  could  administer  the  rites  of  baptism  and 
the  Lord's  Supper,  and  perform  marriage  ceremonies.  Both 
Flemish  and  Frisian  wings  of  the  church  were  represented, 


110  THE  MENNONITES 

to  which  were  added  also,  in  1711,  a  few  Amish  in  Lithuania. 
Frisian  and  Flemish  now  did  not  always  refer  to  original,  na- 
tional or  provincial  differences,  but  rather  to  strict  and  loose 
interpretations  of  church  discipline.  In  church  government, 
the  Mennonites  were  strict  congregationalists,  although  the 
elders  frequently  held  conferences  for  deciding  weighty  mat- 
ters of  common  interest. 

The  first  meetings  were  held  in  private  homes  with  lit- 
tle ceremony.  The  congregation  at  Montau  erected  the  first 
building  for  worship  in  1586,  while  in  Elbing  one  was  built  in 
1590.  In  point  of  numbers  the  church  in  the  old  Prussias 
never  grew  large.  In  1774  it  numbered  about  13,500  souls 
occupying  about  80,000  acres  of  land.  About  1,000  of  these 
lived  in  East  Prussia.  From  that  time  to  this,  there  has  been 
a  slight  decline.  Emigration,  intermarriage  with  other  de- 
nominations, lack  of  the  missionary  spirit,  and  of  education- 
al institutions  has  brought  the  present  number  to  scarcely 
11,000  souls,  less  than  the  number  one  hundred  years  ago. 

Had  the  Mennonite  population  in  Prussia  kept  pace  dur- 
ing the  last  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  with  the  natural 
increase  of  the  rest  of  the  German  people,  the  Mennonite 
church  in  Prussia  today  ought  to  number  over  100,000.  Many 
were  lost  to  the  church  but  little  new  blood  was  added.  A 
recent  statistician  shows  that  in  all  about  three  hundred  and 
sixty  nine  family  names  are  represented,  but  of  these  scarce- 
ly more  than  a  score  or  two  include  the  large  majority  of  the 
Mennonite  population.  Among  the  most  common  family 
names  are  the  following  in  the  order  of  their  frequency: 
Penner  (527),  Dyk  or  Dick,  Wiens,  Wiebe,  Claasen,  Entz, 
Janz,  Janzen,  Freese,  Harder,  Ewert,  Pauls,  Neufeld,  Fast, 
Franz,  Friesen,  Reimer,  Epp,  Klaasen,  Regehr,  Regier,  Frei- 
guth,  Albrecht,  Nickel,  Peters  (107),  etc.  Many  of  these  are 
of  Dutch  origin,  some  of  German  and  Swiss,  and  there  are 
also  a  few  of  Swedish,  but  not  in  the  above  list.  These  it  will 
be  observed  are  also  the  most  common  names  among  the 
Russians  and  the  Russian  Americans. 


GERMANY  111 

When  Polish  or  West  Prussia  fell  under  the  control  of 
Frederick  the  Great,  in  1772,  the  Mennonites  of  that  province 
were  pleased ;  for  Frederick  had  shown  himself  tolerant  to- 
ward religious  dissent,  and  had  already  granted  the  Menno- 
nites of  East  Friesland,  which  province  he  had  inherited,  ex- 
emption from  military  service.  In  order  to  win  the  king's 
favor  and  to  show  their  loyalty,  the  Mennonites  in  the  vicini- 
ty of  Marienburg,  when  a  celebration  was  held  in  that  city 
for  proclaiming  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  king,  presented 
him  with  a  sample  of  the  products  of  their  farms :  twenty 
oxen,  four  hundred  pounds  of  butter,  twenty  cakes  of  cheese, 
fifty  chickens,  and  fifty  ducks.  At  the  same  time,  too,  they 
reminded  him  of  the  privileges  the  Polish  kings  had  granted 
them  and  asked  Frederick  to  confirm  these.  The  next  year  the 
new  king  promised  them:  1.  Freedom  of  worship  according 
to  their  custom.  2.  The  right  to  erect  new  church  edifices. 
3.  Permission  to  establish  their  own  schools.  4.  Freedom 
from  military  service.  5.  The  privilege  of  substituting  an 
affirmation  for  the  oath.  6.  The  right  to  enter  any  line  of 
industry  open  to  others.  7.  The  right  to  bury  their  dead  in 
their  cemeteries. 

These  privileges  lasted  for  but  a  brief  period,  however. 
The  growing  spirit  of  Prussian  militarism  boded  no  good 
for  the  peace-loving  Mennonites.  The  war  office,  fearing 
that  the  growth  of  the  Mennonite  settlements  would  weaken 
the  military  power  of  the  State,  since  military  service  rested 
upon  land-ownership,  influenced  the  royal  council  to  issue 
an  order  forbidding  the  Mennonites  to  buy  any  more  land 
unless  the  original  owner  should  keep  enough  to  retain  the 
military  obligations.  The  king  later  modified  this  order 
somewhat,  permitting  exceptions  in  case  his  special  permis- 
sion was  secured.  A  census  taken  at  the  time  showed  that 
the  Mennonites  owned  over  80,000  acres  of  land.  Special  ex- 
emptions were  now  also  to  be  paid  for.  On  June  20,  1774, 
an  order  was  issued  compelling  Mennonite  congregations  to 
pay  annually  in  lieu  of  military  service  the  sum  of  $5,000  for 


112  THE  MENNONITES 

the  support  of  the  military  academy  at  Culm.  Fearful  of 
further  burdens  and  limitations,  the  Mennonites  now  desired 
that  all  former  promises  be  confirmed  and  stated  in  the  form 
of  a  written  Charter  of  Privileges.  They  finally  succeeded 
in  1780  in  securing  the  coveted  document  signed  by  the  king, 
guaranteeing  practically  all  the  promises  of  1773  with  the 
later  limitations.  The  Lutheran  state  church  in  the  mean- 
time continued  to  insist  that  Mennonite  privileges  be  curtail- 
ed. By  the  spread  of  the  latter  the  material  income  of  the 
former  was  materially  reduced.  Upon  the  accession  of  the 
new  king,  Frederick  William  II.,  in  1789,  they  persuaded  him 
to  issue  an  edict  in  accordance  with  which  Mennonite  owners 
of  landed  property  formerly  belonging  to  Lutherans  were 
forced  to  support  the  Lutheran  parish  churches,  schools  and 
parish  houses.  The  children  of  mixed  marriages  were  to  be 
brought  up  in  the  faith  of  the  non-Mennonite  parent.  No 
more  Mennonites  were  to  be  permitted  to  purchase  homes  in 
Prussia.  But,  if  a  proposed  settler  possessed  property  to  the 
value  of  $2,000,  he  might  locate  in  certain  restricted  regions 
with  the  previous  consent  of  the  king.  He  and  all  his  male 
descendants  from  the  age  of  twenty  to  forty-five  were  to  pay 
a  special  tax  annually  of  one  dollar. 

It  was  evident  now  that  both  Church  and  State  were  de- 
termined to  prevent  the  further  growth  of  Mennonitism. 
Hampered  by  heavy  taxes,  unable  to  secure  new  homes  for 
their  growing  young  people,  and  fearful  of  the  future,  the 
Prussian  Mennonites  looked  about  for  a  new  home  where 
they  might  be  free  to  live  up  to  their  convictions  without 
governmental  restraint.  After  considering  several  possibili- 
ties, including  America,  they  decided  to  accept  the  invitation 
which  fortunately  had  been  extended  to  them  just  a  few 
years  before,  in  1786,  by  Catherine  II.,  of  Russia.  Hundreds 
of  families  left  during  the  years  immediately  following  to 
start  life  over  again  in  the  fertile,  though  desolate  steppes 
along  the  lower  Dnieper. 


GERMANY  113 

II.    North  Germany. 

The  churches  now  in  northwestern  modern  Prussia, 
usually  spoken  of  as  North  Germany  by  Mennonite  writers, 
at  the  time  of  their  early  history  in  the  sixteenth  and  later 
centuries  were  located  within  the  boundaries  of  independent 
states  each  with  a  distinct  religious  policy  of  its  own.  And 
so  while  many  were  composed  of  Dutch  refugees,  they  by 
no  means  had  a  common  history. 

Roughly  speaking,  the  settlements  may  be  classed  into 
four  groups:  1.  The  group  in  East  Friesland  with  the  leading 
congregations  at  Emden,  Leer,  and  Norden ;  2.  the  churches 
along  the  lower  Elbe  with  the  Hamburg-Altona  congrega- 
tion as  a  center;  3.  a  small  group  in  and  about  Friedrichstadt 
in  Schleswig  along  the  lower  Eider ;  and  4.  a  number  of  church- 
es along  the  lower  Rhine  from  Cologne  to  Emmerich  in  the 
duchies  of  Cleves,  Julich,  and  Berg,  the  Bishopric  of  Miinster, 
and  the  Archbishopric  of  Cologne.  The  leading  congrega- 
tions here  were  those  at  Crefeld,  Emmerich,  Cologne,  Goch, 
etc.  These  settlements  just  outside  of  the  borders' of  the 
Netherlands  are  even  older  than  those  of  the  old  Prussias,  and 
many  of  them  are  also  the  result  of  Dutch  persecution  of  the 
middle  sixteenth  century. 

East  Friesland.  In  this  province  the  principal  congrega- 
tion is  the  one  in  Emden  which  is  also  the  oldest  Mennonite 
church  in  modern  Germany.  Anabaptist  refugees  from  the 
Netherlands,  and  Switzerland  were  found  here  as  early  as 
1528.  In  1530  Melchior  Hoffman  made  this  the  center  of  an 
extensive  field  of  labor.  In  one  year  he  baptized  over  three 
hundred  persons.  This  church  also  became  the  home  at  dif- 
ferent times  of  Menno  Simons,  Dirck  and  Obbe  Philip,  Leon- 
hard  Bouwens  and  Hans  de  Ries.  We  have  already  seen  that 
under  the  liberal  rule  of  Countess  Anne,  Mennonites  were 
first  distinguished  here  from  other  sects  in  1544.  As  every- 
where, so  here,  too,  Mennonites  passed  through  varied  ex- 
periences, enjoying  greater  toleration  under  some  rulers  than 
others,  but  never  being  entirely  suppressed  nor  severely  per- 


114  THE  MENNONITES 

secuted.  Up  to  the  middle  of  the  century,  they  were  granted 
considerable  liberty,  but  later  they  were  tolerated  only  on 
condition  that  they  lead  a  quiet  life  and  carry  on  their  wor- 
ship without  public  demonstration.  They  were  not  permit- 
ted the  use  of  church  bells,  which  was  not  a  hardship  evidently, 
for  at  one  time  we  find  the  Reformed  clergy  at  Norden  com- 
plain that  "the  impudent  Mennonites  go  to  church  to  the 
sound  of  our  own  bells."  But  the  most  popular  method  of 
oppression  was  that  of  placing  some  limitations  upon  their 
freedom  of  worship,  or  ordering  their  exile  merely  as  an  ex- 
cuse for  extortion.  In  1626  Count  Rudolf  Christian  per- 
mitted secret  worship  upon  the  annual  payment  of  a  fine  of 
six  dollars  for  each  family.  This  policy  of  blackmail  was  fol- 
lowed by  the  rulers  until  far  toward  the  close  of  the  seven- 
teenth century.  Gradually  more  toleration  was  granted  them. 
In  1739  Mennonite  ministers  were  permitted  to  marry  their 
own  members.  In  1744  East  Friesland  came  under  the  con- 
trol of  the  king  of  Prussia  by  inheritance,  and  from  that  time 
the  Mennonites  of  the  province  enjoyed  the  same  liberties  as 
did  those  of  the  Prussian  kingdom.  As  in  Prussia,  the  Dutch 
language  and  Dutch  customs  were  common  here  until  well 
into  the  nineteenth  century. 

Among  recent  well  known  members  of  the  Emden  con- 
gregation was  Anna  Brons,  author  of  a  comprehensive  and 
authentic  history  of  the  Mennonites,  whose  husband,  Isaac 
Brons,  was  a  member  of  the  Frankfort  Diet  during  the  middle 
of  the  last  century. 

The  lower  German  Rhine  region  was  early  a  center  of 
Anabaptist  activity.  As  already  suggested,  a  flourishing  con- 
gregation was  formed  early  at  Cologne.  For  a  short  period 
Herman  von  Wied,  the  Elector,  by  converting  the  electorate 
from  a  Catholic  archbishopric  to  a  Lutheran  principality,  se- 
cured a  brief  spell  of  religious  toleration.  It  was  during  this 
time  (1544  to  1546)  that  Menno  Simons  made  his  home  here. 
By  1562  the  church  at  this  place  still  had  a  membership  of 
one  hundred.  Gladbach  nearby  contained  a  Mennonite  colony 


JACOB  MANNHARDT 
Founder    of    Mennonitische    Blatter,    1854. 


GERMANY  115 

of  five  hundred  souls.  The  duchy  of  Julich,  one  chronicler  says, 
''was  full  of  Anabaptists".  Churches  were  found  in  Aachen, 
Soest,  Bocholt,  and  throughout  the  contiguous  regions  of 
Julich-Cleve,  Berg,  Cologne,  and  Miinster.  Most  of  these 
early  churches  were  destroyed  through  persecution.  Some 
survived  and  others  sprang  up  later.  Persecutions  were  more 
severe  here  than  in  any  other  part  of  Germany,  partly  be- 
cause of  the  fact  that  Miinster,  the  seat  of  the  Miinster  dis- 
aster, was  not  far  away,  and  there  were  still  a  number  of 
these  fanatics  to  be  found  in  these  regions.  Since  the  quiet, 
peaceful  Anabaptists  were  confused  with  the  "corrupt  sects," 
the  innocent  had  to  suffer  with  the  guilty.  Throughout  the 
sixteenth  century  Mennonites  were  still  sent  to  the  rack  and 
to  the  stake  by  the  Archbishops  of  Cologne  and  rulers  of 
neighboring  states.  In  1565,  the  Duke  of  Julich  issued  a 
stringent  decree  ordering  them  to  leave  his  territory.  No 
one  was  to  shelter  or  feed  them,  nor  were  they  to  take  any  of 
their  property  out  of  the  land.  Many  left  for  Holstein  and 
Prussia. 

In  1558  among  the  victims  at  Cologne  was  Thomas  von 
Imbroich,  a  young  printer  of  twenty-five.  While  undergoing 
the  most  painful  torture,  inflicted  by  his  accusers  for  the  pur- 
pose of  forcing  from  him  a  recantation,  he  was  encouraged 
by  his  wife  who  was  a  witness  of  his  suffering  to  remain 
steadfast.  Refusing  to  deny  his  faith,  he  was  beheaded.  The 
Martyrs'  Mirror  which  gives  an  extended  account  of  the  trial 
and  execution  of  this  man  of  heroic  mold  says,  that  the  "Count 
would  gladly  have  set  him  free,  but  he  feared  the  imperial  de- 
cree, and  the  displeasure  of  the  bishop."  It  will  be  remem- 
bered here  that  during  a  large  part  of  the  century  all  the 
provinces  of  the  empire  were  under  obligations  by  imperial 
decree,  no  matter  what  their  own  preferences  may  have  been, 
to  exterminate  the  Anabaptists.  Imbroich  was  an  extensive 
writer.  His  tract  on  baptism  was  well  known  throughout 
Germany  for  a  long  time  and  is  still  found  printed  in  the  ap- 
pendix to  the  old  hymn-book  —  the  Ausbund. 


116  THE  MENNONITES 

In  1565  fifty-six  members  of  this  church  were  apprehend- 
ed and  cast  into  prison,  including  their  minister,  Matthias 
Servaes.  The  Martyrs'  Mirror  also  gives  an  extended  account 
of  the  execution  of  this  man.  He  was  a  minister  of  consider- 
able ability  and  influence,  and  was  especially  active  in  an  at- 
tempt to  bring  about  a  union  of  the  North  and  South  Ger- 
man churches  which  had  developed  certain  differences  on 
questions  of  church  discipline.  This  task  did  not  succeed  at 
this  time,  but  the  union  was  brought  about  in  1591  on  the 
basis  of  the  Concept  of  Cologne,  one  of  the  early  Confessions 
of  Faith.  Just  before  he  was  beheaded,  Servaes,  turning  to 
the  local  ruler  who  was  present,  said,  "You  know  well,  sir 
Count,  how  you  have  treated  me ;  but  I  have  forgiven  you  all. 
It  is  all  out  of  my  heart."  A  decree  issued  by  the  city  coun- 
cil of  Cologne  in  1578  placing  all  Mennonites  under  the  death 
penalty  practically  annihilated  the  church  at  this  place. 

By  the  close  of  the  sixteenth  century,  executions  had 
about  ceased  throughout  the  lower  Rhine  country.  A  more 
profitable  method  of  persecution,  that  of  extortion,  had  been 
discovered.  And  so  this  became  the  popular  means  here  also 
of  oppression.  One  of  the  last  attempts  of  this  kind  was  car- 
ried out  as  late  as  1694  at  Rheydt.  Elector  Johann  Wilhelm 
was  especially  bitter  against  the  Mennonites,  and  frequently 
demanded  sums  of  money  from  them.  Many  of  the  land- 
owners whose  estates  they  were  farming,  entreated  the  elect- 
or in  their  behalf,  but  to  no  avail.  Suddenly,  on  July  16,  1694, 
a  company  of  soldiers  appeared  at  the  castle  of  Rheydt,  where 
there  was  a  small  band  of  Mennonites,  and  seizing  thirty  of 
them  and  tying  them  to  ropes  hastened  them  out  of  their 
homes.  After  compelling  them  to  march  until  they  were 
nearly  exhausted,  the  soldiers  agreed  to  release  them  on  pay- 
ment of  twelve  thousand  gulden.  Being  poor,  however, 
the  Mennonites  could  raise  only  eight  thousand.  Robbed  of  all 
their  property,  they  were  forced  to  turn  to  their  brethren  at 
Crefeld  and  Amsterdam  for  help.  As  usual  in  cases  of  such 
appeals,  the  influential  Mennonites  of  the  Netherlands  as  well 


GERMANY  117 

as  the  Dutch  Government  and  even  the  King  of  England,  the 
recent  Dutch  Stadtholder,  interceded  for  the  refugees.  King 
William  even  wrote  to  Emperor  Leopold  in  their  behalf.  The 
Emperor,  strange  to  say,  took  up  their  case  with  the  result 
that  the  Elector  reinstated  the  exiles,  although  the  plunder 
was  not  returned. 

Of  the  churches  still  existing  in  these  regions  Crefeld  is 
the  most  important.  This  church  was  founded  in  the  latter 
part  of  the  sixteenth  century.  In  1604,  the  town  fell  to  the  lot 
of  Maurice  of  Nassau  who  inaugurated  a  reign  of  religious 
toleration  at  a  time  when  all  the  surrounding  states  were  still 
persecuting  the  non-state  organizations.  Although  the  ec- 
clesiastical authorities  opposed,  a  number  of  Mennonites  came 
here  during  this  time.  In  1655  the  Reformed  clergy  com- 
plained that  within  a  short  time  seventy  families  had  arrived. 
In  1696  the  first  public  house  was  built  in  a  back  alley,  where 
the  present  church  still  stands.  Worship  was  to  be  conducted 
quietly.  A  special  tax  was  paid  in  lieu  of  military  service. 
Among  the  early  settlers  were  many  skilled  in  the  weaving 
industry.  In  1665  the  Mennonite  family  of  von  der  Leyen  came 
here  from  Flanders  and  first  established  the  silk  industry. 
From'  this  beginning  Crefeld  has  developed  into  one  of  the 
three  greatest  silk  centers  in  Europe. 

In  1702  Crefeld  fell  to  Prussia,  whose  king,  Frederick 
William  I,  in  1721,  granted  the  Mennonites  certain  privileges, 
including  military  exemption  upon  the  payment  of  $500  re- 
cruiting money.  The  Reformed  clergy  considered  these  privi- 
leges too  liberal  and  brought  their  complaints  before  the  king, 
who  replied,  "The  Mennonites  should  not  be  persecuted  but 
should  be  tolerated  both  for  reasons  of  state  and  on  religious 
grounds  since  they  are  good  Chritians,  living  peaceably  ac- 
cording to  the  rules  of  their  faith."  The  congregation  still  em- 
braces nearly  twelve  hundred  souls  including  children.  From 
this  congregation  have  come  a  number  of  men  prominent  in 
business  and  political  life  in  Northwestern  Germany,  including 
during  the  past  century  Herman  von  Beckerath,    who  was    at 


118  THE  MENNONITES 

one  time  a  member  of  the  Frankfort  Diet  and  Imperial 
Minister  of  Finance.  It  was  from  here  too  that  the  first  Amer- 
ican Mennonite  colony  at  Germantown  came  in  1683. 

Another  important  congregation  was  that  founded  at  Em- 
merich, in  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century,  which  survived 
through  the  trials  of  all  those  years,  and  continued  until 
within  recent  times,  but  is  now  extinct.  The  Neuwied  con- 
gregation of  seventy  souls  was  founded  during  the  rule  of 
Count  Frederick  III  von  Wied  in  the  seventeenth  century. 
The  church  at  Goch  with  thirty  souls  dates  back  to  1550. 

The  Lower  Elbe.  A  few  Dutch  Mennonite  refugees 
located  along  the  Elbe  in  Holstein  as  early  as  1530.  The 
principal  settlement  was  made,  however,  during  the  middle  of 
the  century  in  the  cities  of  Hamburg  and  Altona.  This  formed 
one  congregation  really,  although  under  two  political  juris- 
dictions. Hamburg  was  a  free  city  while  Altona  was  at  that 
time  within  the  county  of  Pinneberg  ruled  by  the  Schauen- 
berg  line  of  counts.  These  pioneers  were  mostly  Flemish, 
though  some  Frisians  and  Germans  were  also  found  among 
them.  At  the  end  of  the  Thirty  Years'  War,  the  entire  con- 
gregation at  Wuestenfelde,  one  of  Menno  Simons'  hiding 
places,  migrated  to  Altona  after  their  town  and  community 
had  been  laid  bare  by  that  long  and  destructive  struggle. 

The  Mennonites  here  were  given  the  usual  reception  by 
the  Lutheran  authorities,  and  were  severely  restricted  in  their 
freedom  of  worship,  although  no  longer  burned  at  the  stake 
or  tortured  on  the  rack  for  non-conformity.  In  1601  Count 
Ernst  van  Schauenberg  granted  the  Altona  Mennonites  per- 
mission to  carry  on  their  worship  in  private,  bury  their  dead 
in  their  own  cemeteries,  and  enter  any  kind  of  business  upon 
the  payment  of  one  dollar  annually  for  each  head  of  a  family. 
In  1641  upon  the  extinction  of  the  line  of  Schauenburg  counts, 
King  Christian  IV  of  Denmark,  who  succeeded  to  the 
Schauenberg  title,  confirmed  these  privileges  and  slightly 
extended  them. 

The  history  of  the  Hamburg-Altona  congregation,    which 


GERMANY  119 

contained  a  large  number  of  Dutch  refugees,  is  organically 
closely  related  to  the  church  in  the  Netherlands.  In  1678 
Galenus  Abraham  de  Haan  of  Amsterdam,  founder  of  the 
"Galenist"  or  "Lammist"  faction  in  the  Netherlands  visited 
the  Altona  church,  hoping  to  preach  for  them.  The  local 
congregation,  however,  which  had  taken  sides  with  the  op- 
posing faction,  the  "Sonnists"  decided  to  test  the  orthodoxy  of 
Galenus  before  permitting  him  to  preach.  After  submitting  a 
list  of  questions  for  his  consideration  they  finally  considered 
him  safe  on  such  points  as  the  necessity  for  water  baptism, 
for  church  membership  and  for  participation  in  the  com- 
munion service,  the  equality  of  the  Son  with  the  Father,  and 
the  necessity  of  a  written  Confession  of  Faith.  These  questions 
throw  some  light  on  the  issues  which  lay  back  of  the  doctrinal 
quarrel  which  was  agitating  the  Dutch  churches  at  that 
time.  Galenus  was  permitted  to  preach  but  was  warned  not  to 
advocate  any  practises  contrary  to  those  of  the  Hamburg- 
Altona  congregation,  among  others  that  of  observing  silent 
prayer.  Through  the  efforts  of  Gerrit  Roosen  the  well 
known  minister  at  this  time,  what  might  have  developed  into 
a  serious  division  was  avoided. 

Roosen  served  the  Altona  church  as  deacon  and  minister 
for  over  fifty  years  during  the  most  critical  period  of  its 
history.  In  addition  to  guiding  the  church  safely  through  the 
crisis  just  mentioned,  he  also  was  responsible  for  saving  the 
membership  from  the  proselyting  zeal  of  the  Quakers,  who 
during  these  years  were  carrying  on  an  effective  propaganda 
among  the  Mennonites  of  Northwestern  Germany.  As  it  was, 
the  congregation  lost  ten  of  its  members.  In  1648  he  also  took 
a  leading  part  against  a  movement  which  threatened  for  a 
time  to  reach  serious  proportions.  During  that  year,  seventeen 
applicants  for  baptism  had  been  induced  by  some  outside  in- 
fluence to  demand  several  innovations  including  baptism  by 
immersion,  feet-washing  before  communion,  and  the  use  of 
unleavened  bread.  Not  succeeding  in  converting  Roosen  and 
the  other    leaders  to    their    views,    these    immersionists    or 


120  THE  MENNONITES 

"dompelaars"  withdrew  and  established  a  separate  organiza- 
tion. One  of  their  leaders  later  was  Jacob  Denner  who  died  in 
1746,  and  who  was  the  author  of  a  book  of  sermons  much  read 
and  used  in  Germany,  Switzerland  and  America  in  the  days 
when  the  reading  of  sermons  by  untrained  preachers  was  a 
common  practice  among  the  Mennonites.  Before  Denner's 
death,  the  "dompelaars"  had  again  become  reconciled  with  the 
body  from  which  they  had  withdrawn. 

Roosen  was  born  in  Hamburg  in  1612,  and  lived  to  be 
nearly  one  hundred  years  old.  In  1638,  he  established  the  first 
manufactory  of  hosiery  in  the  city,  founding  an  industry  which 
made  him  wealthy.  He  was  elected  a  minister  of  the  congre- 
gation in  1660,  serving  without  recompense  until  his  death  in 
1711.  He  traveled  extensively  throughout  Northern  Germany 
in  the  interests  of  the  church.  He  also  wrote  several  books 
including  a  catechism  in  1702,  which  was  in  use  for  one 
hundred  and  fifty  years  in  both  Europe  and  America.  It  was 
to  him  that  the  Germantown  Mennonites  wrote  for  advice 
with  reference  to  the  installation  of  the  first  minister  in  Amer- 
ica. He  died  in  1711  from  injuries  while  cutting  wood,  being 
ninety-nine  years  and  eight  and  one-half  months  old. 

Like  the  city  churches  in  the  Netherlands,  the  Hamburg- 
Altona  congregation  included  a  number  of  men  of  wealth. 
Weaving  and  the  whale  fisheries  were  among  the  important 
industries  in  which  the  members  engaged.  Gerrit  Roosen  was 
the  leading  shipowner  in  the  city  in  his  day.  In  1713,  when 
the  Swedish  troops  set  fire  to  Hamburg,  H.  van  der  Smissen, 
whose  father  had  come  to  Altona  in  1682,  lost  two  breweries 
and  eighteen  houses  in  the  conflagration.  In  1674,  when  a 
new  church  building  was  to  be  erected,  those  engaged  in  the 
whale  fisheries  promised  to  contribute  five  per  cent,  of  the  net 
profits  of  the  season's  catch  toward  the  proposed  church 
building.  A  catch  of  six  hundred  whales  in  northern  seas 
more  than  met  the  needs. 

The  Mennonites  of  these  city  churches  were  active  in  all 
attempts  to  help  their    persecuted    brethren  in    other    lands. 


GERMANY  121 

Together  with  the  churches  in  the  Netherlands,  they  con- 
tributed large  sums  to  aid  the  Bernese  Mennonites  in  reach- 
ing America  and  the  Netherlands  during  the  early  eighteenth 
century. 

Holstein.  Friedrichstadt  on  the  Eider  in  Holstein  became 
the  center  of  several  small  groups  of  Mennonites  in  the  early 
seventeenth  century.  In  1623,  the  town  was  founded  by  the 
tolerant  Remonstrants,  who  opened  the  gates  wide  to  all  re- 
ligious refugees.  Most  of  the  first  Mennonite  immigrants 
came  from  the  Netherlands.  By  means  of  dikes  and  dams, 
they  transformed  the  low  swamp  lands  about  Friedrichstadt 
into  a  most  prosperous  agricultural  community.  By  1703,  the 
congregation  here  numbered  one  hundred  and  seventy-eight 
members.  One  hundred  years  later,  as  a  result  of  wars,  pesti- 
lence, and  clinging  too  long  to  outgrown  customs,  the  number 
had  dwindled  down  to  thirty.  The  Year  Book  of  the  South 
German  Conference  for  1909  gives  the  membership  as  seven- 
ty-two souls  from  eight  different  villages.  C.  J.  van  der 
Smissen,  well  known  in  America,  was  the  pastor  at  Friedrich- 
stadt at  the  time  of  his  call  to  the  Wadsworth  school. 

The  greatest  problem  confronting  the  Mennonites  of 
North  Germany  during  the  nineteenth  century  was  the  prob- 
lem of  maintaining  the  doctrine  and  practise  of  non-participa- 
tion in  war.  The  growing  spirit  of  militarism  engendered  by 
the  Napoleonic  wars  made  it  increasingly  difficult  for  those  of 
the  non-resiistant  faith  to  live  up  to  their  convictions.  In  some 
parts  of  Germany,  too,  these  convictions  were  weakening. 
The  churches  along  the  Dutch  border,  composed  largely 
of  business  men  living  in  cities  and  for  that  reason  pos- 
sessing more  liberal  views  of  life  than  were  held  by  Men- 
nonites from  country  districts,  and  influenced  by  the  Dutch 
churches  in  all  their  beliefs  and  practises,  were  inclined  to 
follow  their  Dutch  brethren  in  the  matter  of  the  war  question. 
The  Dutch  had  already  practically  discarded  the  doctrine  of 
non-resistance  as  it  applied  to  war,  and  so  during  the  nine- 
teenth century  the  churches  of  Northwestern  Germany  made 


122  THE  MENNONITES 

only  a  feeble  attempt  to  maintain  the  principle  of  military 
exemption.  Although  the  elders  of  East  Friesland  and  the 
Rhine  provinces  tried  to  hold  on  to  the  old  principles  and 
tried  to  furnish  both  substitutes  and  exemption  money  as 
before,  yet  when  Napoleon  in  1806,  at  the  formation  of  the 
Rhine  Confederation  ordered  all  young  men  to  serve  in  the 
army,  no  serious  nor  successful  resistance  was  made  to  the 
order.  After  this  Mennonite  young  men  in  North  Germany 
were  found  with  others  in  the  army. 

Among  the  more  conservative  Prussians,  however,  for 
reasons  just  intimated  the  struggle  was  kept  up  for  another 
half  century.  As  we  saw,  at  the  opening  of  the  century,  these 
were  till  granted  military  exemption  upon  the  payment  of 
$5,000  to  the  military  academy  at  Culm.  But  the  growing 
military  spirit  and  the  constant  menace  of  a  French  invasion 
threatened  their  privileges.  In  order  to  show  their  loyalty  to 
their  country,  they  frequently  made  special  contributions  in 
times  of  special  need.  In  1806,  while  the  Prussian  King  and 
Queen  were  stopping  at  Graudenz  on  their  way  to  the 
eastern  frontier,  the  Mennonite  churches  of  that  region  had 
collected  $30,000  and  had  delegated  a  farmer  by  the  name  of 
Nickel  and  his  wife  to  present  the  gift  to  the  king,  which 
they  did.  The  wife,  in  addition,  gave  the  queen  a  basket  of 
fresh  butter,  naively  remarking  that  she  had  heard  the  queen 
was  in  sore  need  of  such  a  luxury.  Both  gifts  were  greatly 
appreciated  by  the  royal  pair. 

During  the  so-called  War  of  Liberation  in  1813,  the 
Prussians  were  especially  hard  pressed  by  the  extraordinary 
drain  made  upon  their  resources.  The  Mennonites  of  East 
Prussia  were  requested  in  lieu  of  their  special  privileges  to 
furnish  five  hundred  horses,  and  $20,000  above  their  regular 
taxes.  This,  proving  too  serious  a  burden,  however,  the 
amount  was  somewhat  reduced. 

During  this  war  universal  service  was  inaugurated  from 
which  Mennonites  at  first  were  not  exempted.  The  elders  in 
appealing  to  the  king  for     the    restoration  .  of    their    former 


GERMANY  123 

status  declared  they  would  rather  pay  the  extraordinary  taxes, 
and  what  was  even  worse,  "bear  the  mockery  and  ill-will  of 
their  neighbors"  than  to  take  up  arms  contrary  to  their  re- 
ligious convictions.  As  a  result  of  this  appeal,  they  were  ex- 
empted upon  the  payment  of  special  taxes. 

Although  the  War  of  Liberation  was  followed  by  a  half 
century  of  peace,  the  military  spirit  throughout  Prussia  and 
all  Germany  ran  high,  and  when  in  1848,  the  new  Prussian 
constitution  declared  that  every  Prussian  is  subject  to  mili- 
tary service,  a  number  of  Mennonites,  fearing  for  their  non- 
resistant  faith,  left  for  other  lands,  principally  America  and 
Russia.  Between  1853  and  1859,  two  hundred  families  mi- 
grated to  the  latter  country.  Later  on  a  number  of  these 
Prussians  came  to  America  settling  for  the  most  part  near 
Beatrice,  Nebraska,  and  Newton,  Emaus  and  Bruderthal, 
Kansas.  A  considerable  element,  tiring  of  the  struggle  for 
military  exemption,  was  ready  to  follow  the  example  of  their 
brethren  in  the  Netherlands  and  in  the  German  regions  near 
by  who  had  already  discarded  the  principle  of  non-resistance. 

The  end  came  in  1867,  when  the  North  German  Diet  at 
Frankfort  passed  a  law  abolishing  all  exemptions,  thus  ending 
the  privileges  which  Mennonites  had  enjoyed  in  Germany  for 
over  three  hundred  years.  This  law  was  modified  by  the 
King  of  Prussia  the  following  year  by  a  Cabinet  order  making 
it  possible  to  substitute  for  active  service,  non-combatant 
service  in  the  hospitals  and  the  Commissary  and  Quarter- 
master departments.  The  effect  of  this  order  as  just  stated, 
was  to  send  a  few  of  the  more  conscientious,  who  had  not 
already  gone  to  Russia  or  America.  Of  those  who  remained, 
about  half  entered  the  non-combatant  service,  and  the  remain- 
der entered  the  regular  service.  In  the  war  of  1870,  a  number 
of  the  Prussian  Mennonites  performed  full  military  duty.  In 
the  recent  war  there  were  perhaps  few  who  demanded  non- 
combatant  service.  Non-resistance  is  no  longer  a  cardinal 
doctrine  in  the  faith  of  the  German  Mennonites. 

The    Prussian      Mennonites    have      not    made      much 


124  THE  MENNONITES 

growth  during  recent  years.  Several  important  move- 
ments, however,  need  to  be  mentioned.  The  churches 
have  always  been  strongly  individualistic,  but  the  West  Prus- 
sian congregations  have  now  organized  a  conference.  In 
1886,  at  Berlin  also  was  launched  the  Union  of  Mennonites  of 
the  German  Empire,  the  purpose  of  which  is  to  unify  the  Men- 
nonites of  all  Germany.  Of  special  value  was  the  founding 
of  the  first  German  church  periodical  in  1854,  the  "Men- 
nonitische  Blaetter"  by  Jacob  Mannhardt,  pastor  at  Danzig. 
Mannhardt  who  was  called  to  the  Danzig  church  in  1835  at  a 
salary  of  $600  was  the  second  minister  in  the  church  to  receive 
a  salary.  He  died  in  1885.  Two  other  recent  leading  men  of 
the  church  in  what  is  now  Prussia  are  C.  J.  van  der  Smissen 
from  Friedrichstadt,  and  B.  C.  Roosen  from  Hamburg- 
Altona,  author  of  a  life  of  Menno  Simons  and  of  a  history  of 
the  Hamburg-Altona  church. 

The  entire  Mennonite  population  of  present  Prussia  be- 
fore the  recent  war  was  about  14,000,  of  which  about  10,000 
were  found  in  the  province  of  West  Prussia,  1,000  in  East 
Prussia,  and  the  remainder  in  the  western  provinces. 

III.    South  Germany. 

As  indicated  elsewhere,  the  native  German  Anabaptist 
communities  were  quite  thoroughly  rooted  out  in  the  six- 
teenth century.  Many  of  the  present  Mennonite  settlements 
were  founded  by  exiles  from  neighboring  countries.  Those 
in  North  Germany  and  the  Prussias,  it  was  seen  came  largely 
from  Holland,  and  remained  in  close  touch  with  the  home 
base  for  several  centuries.  Those  of  South  Germany  on  the 
other  hand,  many  of  them,  were  founded  by  Swiss  refugees 
and  always  remained  more  or  less  closely  affiliated  with  the 
church  in  Switzerland.  As  we  saw  in  chapter  I,  many  of  the 
Swiss  leaders  in  the  early  history  of  the  Anabaptist  move- 
ment were  driven  into  southern  Germany  where  large 
congregations  were  organized  in  the  first  third  of  the  six- 
teenth century  in  the  regions  of  Augsburg,  Strasburg,  Worms 


BEREND  CARL  ROOSEN 


GERMANY  125 

and  other  cities  and  villages  in  Bavaria,  Baden,  Hesse,  Nassau, 
Wurtemburg,  and  the  Palatinate.  Most  of  these  early  con- 
gregations were  broken  up  by  persecutions,  however,  before 
the  middle  of  the  century.  Only  isolated  churches  survived 
to  which  were  added  others  later  on.  The  largest  of  these 
surviving  settlements  augmented  by  later  additions,  were 
found  in  the  Palatinate  and  Hesse  in  the  region  of  Heidelberg 
and  Mannheim,  along  the  Rhine  and  the  Neckar,  although 
small  groups  were  also  found  early  and  have  survived  to  the 
present  in  all  of  the  above  named  states. 

In  Catholic  Bavaria  persecutions  were  most  severe. 
Van  Bracht,  the  martyrologist  speaks  of  seventy  martyrs  who 
died  for  their  faith  between  1535  and  1605  in  Bavaria  and 
other  South  German  regions.  The  last  execution  in  South 
Germany  was  that  of  a  Huterite  woman  who  was  put  to  death 
in  1618.  In  the  Palatinate  and  in  the  Rhine  regions,  the 
persecutions  were  not  so  severe  as  in  Bavaria.  Occasionally' 
there  was  even  a  period  of  limited  toleration. 

Persecution  usually  was  instigated  by  the  clergy.  Re- 
formed and  Lutheran  as  well  as  Catholic,  while  the  temporal 
authorities,  especially  the  nobility  upon  whose  lands  Men- 
nonites  lived  as  tenants,  often  took  the  part  of  the  latter. 
Many  of  these  noble  estates  had  originally  been  monastic 
lands,  and  being  "hofs"  gave  names  to  many  of  the  Mennonite 
congregations  such  as  Weirhof,  Buechselhof,  Ekerhof,  etc. 

In  order  to  convince  the  public  of  the  errors  of  Menno- 
nite dectrine,  public  disputations  were  still  occasionally  held 
late  in  the  century.  The  best  known  and  best  advertised  of 
these  discussions  was  held  at  Frankenthal  in  1571,  under  the 
auspices  of  Elector  Frederick  III  of  the  Palatinate.  This 
meeting  was  widely  advertised  throughout  South  Germany 
among  the  Mennonites  who  were  offered  safe  conduct  and 
freedom  from  religious  interference  during  the  debate.  But 
only  fifteen  Mennonites  responded  to  the  invitation,  coming 
principally  from  Moravia,  Austria  and  several  of  the  south 
German  cities  outside  of  the  Palatinate. 


126  THE  MENNONITES 

The  debate  lasted  for  twenty-two  days,  and  thirty-seven 
sessions  were  held.  The  spokesmen  for  the  Mennonite  cause 
were  Diebold  Winter  from  the  imperial  city  of  Weisenberg, 
and  Hans  Buechsel  from  Austria,  author  of  a  number  of  songs 
in  the  Ausbund,  Peter  Walpot  from  Nicholsburg,  Claus  Sim- 
merer  from  the  Palatinate  and  others,  all  courageous  and  con- 
scientious but  unlearned  leaders  of  the  church.  The  State 
Church  on  the  other  hand  put  forth  its  best  known  theologians, 
well  versed  in  the  intricacies  of  the  theologies  of  the  day.  The 
Mennonites  showed  themselves  much  the  better  versed  in  the 
Bible  but  the  theologians  were  more  at  home  in  the  philoso- 
phies of  the  day.  The  latter,  of  course,  were  declared  the 
victors  in  the  debate  by  the  state  authorities.  The  questions 
discussed  were  those  which  marked  the  distinctive  teachings  of 
the  Mennonites,  such  as  the  trinity,  incarnation,  origin  of  sin, 
ban,  separation  of  husband  and  wife,  community  of  goods, 
magistracy,  oath,  infant  baptism,  and  the  Lord's  Supper.  The 
question  on  the  community  of  goods  was  inserted  for  the 
benefit  of  the  Moravian  delegates  present  who  represented  the 
Huterites,  at  that  time  communists. 

The  result  of  this  debate  was  the  usual  one.  Each  side 
was  strengthened  in  its  position,  and  the  condition  of  the  Men- 
nonites was  not  improved.  In  1573,  a  synod  under  the  presi- 
dency of  the  Elector,  declared  the  Mennonites  to  be  "Zauber- 
er  und  Menschen  so  Vieh  und  Leute  segnen  und  dem  Teufel 
huldigen."  They  were  given  time  to  repent  and  if  not,  they 
were  threatened  with  expulsion.  During  the  remainder  of  that 
century  their  lot  became  so  burdensome  and  uncomfortable 
that  by  1600,  most  of  the  congregations  had  emigrated  to 
Moravia.  The  Thirty  Years'  War  also  devastated  this  land 
and  even  further  scattered  the  isolated  communities  that  had 
survived  the  oppression  of  the  previous  century. 

It  was  about  this  time,  too,  that  several  conferences  were 
held  of  the  South  German,  Swiss  and  Moravian  Mennonites, 
the  proceedings  of  which  throw  some  interesting  side  lights 
upon  the  religious  practises  of  that  day.    In  1568  was  held  an 


GERMANY  127 

important  meeting  at  Strasburg  at  which  a  number  of  recom- 
mendations were  made  relating  to  the  everyday  life  of  the 
Mennonite  people.  Widows  and  orphans  were  to  be  cared  for 
by  the  church.  The  congregations,  too,  were  to  help  support 
ministers  who  were  called  away  in  the  interests  of  church 
matters.  No  brother  was  to  enter  mercantile  life  without  the 
consent  of  the  church  and  the  elders.  Money  was  to  be  loaned 
perferably  to  fellow  members,  rather  than  to  the  "world." 
Interest  could  be  taken,  but  no  force  was  to  be  used  in  collect- 
ing money  when  due.  The  Ban  was  to  be  applied  to  all  who 
"slander  the  truth  of  the  gospel  and  the  church."  If  a  broth- 
er was  to  be  appointed  to  do  police  duty  in  the  town  forests, 
he  was  not  to  carry  a  weapon  nor  do  violence  to  any  one. 
Public  drinking  and  smoking,  being  an  offence  to  many,  was 
forbidden.  Believing  servants  were  to  enter  the  service  of 
church  members  preferably.  Tailors  and  seamstresses  were 
to  make  their  clothing  according  to  the  simple  customs  of 
the  times  and  not  to  cater  to  the  vain  and  proud  fashions  of 
the  day.  Brethren  were  to  greet  one  another  with  the  kiss 
of  peace.  Vain  arguing  about  the  mysteries  of  the  incarna- 
tion was  declared  to  be  profitless.  In  the  breaking  of  bread, 
all  were  to  kneel.  No  one  was  to  leave  the  services  before 
the  close,  even  though  such  services  may  last  for  six  hours. 

In  1557  was  held  at  Strasburg  also  the  well  known  con- 
ference of  South  German  Mennonites  to  discuss  the  points  of 
difference  which  separated  them  from  their  brethren  in  the 
North  and  in  the  Netherlands,  especially  the  Wismar  rules 
of  1554  dealing  with  church  discipline.  After  these  impor- 
tant meetings,  there  was  little  intercourse  between  the  North 
and  South  German  churches  for  several  centuries. 

At  the  close  of  the  Thirty  Years'  War,  however,  there 
opened  up  a  new  chapter  in  the  history  of  the  South  Ger- 
mans and  the  Palatinate  especially.  That  war  had  greatly 
devastated  these  regions  and  at  its  close  greatly  reduced  the 
population.  There  was  again  a  large  demand  for  industrious 
and  skilled  farmers  to  build  up  the  desolated  regions  made 


128  THE  MENNONITES 

so  by  the  war.  At  this  time  the  Swiss  Mennonites  were  un- 
dergoing severe  persecution  in  Bern,  and  in  them  the  Elector 
saw  good  material  for  prospective  colonists.  Accordingly  the 
Count  Palatine,  Carl  Ludwig,  sent  them  an  invitation  to  set- 
tle on  his  estates  offering  them  a  limited  religious  toleration 
and  the  abrogation  of  the  old  oppressive  laws.  A  few  came 
as  early  as  1658  from  Moravia  and  started  a  colony  near 
Mannheim,  which  again  became  the  center  of  immigrant  col- 
onies. In  1664  permission  was  granted  to  worship  publicly 
to  such  as  had  settled  there.  The  large  immigration  came 
from  Bern,  however,  in  1671  during  which  year  seven  hun- 
dred arrived  in  the  Palatinate,  settling  in  the  regions  between 
Kaiserlautern,,  Mannheim,  and  Heidelberg.  A  few  came  la- 
ter. About  one  hundred  at  this  time  located  in  Alsace.  Theil- 
man  van  Bracht,  visiting  these  Swiss  refugees  in  1672,  report- 
ed that  there  was  great  suffering  among  the  Swiss  both  here 
and  in  Switzerland  at  this  time.  The  Elector  promised  them 
protection  and  toleration,  but  they  were  not  to  carry  on  act- 
ive propaganda  to  spread  their  faith. 

The  Swiss  refugees  enjoyed  but  a  brief  respite,  however, 
in  the  Palatinate.  In  1688  began  the  so-called  war  of  the  Pal- 
atinate in  which  the  command  of  Louis  XIV  to  "burn  up  the 
Palatinate"  was  almost  literally  carried  out  by  the  lieutenants 
of  the  French  monarch.  McCauley  speaking  of  this  general 
devastation  says,  "The  flames  went  up  from  every  market 
place,  every  parish  church,  every  country  seat  within  the  de- 
voted province.  The  fields  where  the  corn  had  been  sown 
were  plowed  up.  The  orchards  were  hewn  down.  No  prom- 
ise of  a  harvest  was  left  on  the  fertile  plains  of  what  had  been 
Frankenthal.  Not  a  vine,  not  an  almond  tree  was  to  be  seen 
on  the  slopes  of  the  sunny  hills  around  what  had  once  been 
Heidelberg." 

The  Mennonites  of  course  were  not  spared.  Two  hun- 
dred and  forty  families  had  to  flee.  These  sought  refuge  in 
the  regions  down  the  Rhine,  and  would  not  have  been  able 
to  eke  out  an  existence  had  not  their  brethren  in  Holland  and 


GERMANY  129 

Northwest  Germany  come  to  their  help  with  substantial  gifts 
of  both  money  and  clothing.  Many  found  their  way  as  exiles 
to  the  churches  at  Crefeld,  Neuweid,  Amsterdam  and  other 
communities.  Others  returned  to  the  Palatinate  to  start  life 
over  again. 

Hut  here,  too,  they  found  only  a  temporary  asylum  after 
the  war.  After  the  Palatinate  had  again  recovered  from  its 
losses,  and  people  again  became  plentiful  there  was  no  longer 
any  need  of  being  kind  to  the  Mennonites.  These  were 
consequently  constantly  hampered  both  in  their  worship 
and  in  their  every-day  life  during  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury. As  late  as  1726,  the  Elector  who  had  again  become 
a  Catholic  by  this  time,  said  that  Mennonites  at  that  time  were 
merely  tolerated  in  his  land.  They  were  not  allowed  to  buy 
land  and  hence  must  become  tenants  or  laborers.  In  the  at- 
tempt on  the  part  of  the  Government  to  keep  their  number 
down  to  two  hundred  families,  a  special  head  tax  of  from  six 
to  twelve  gulden  was  levied  upon  them  annually.  In  their 
worship,  too,  they  were  limited,  and  could  not  bury  their  dead 
in  the  church  graveyards.  The  kings  of  England  as  well  as 
the  authorities  in  Holland  frequently  interceded  in  behalf  of 
the  Mennonites  in  the  Palatinate  during  these  times,  but  to 
no  avail.  Because  of  these  limitations,  the  Mennonites  in 
these  regions  were  kept  poor.  Benedict  Brechtbuhl  in  1714 
who  distributed  money  collected  in  Holland  for  the  poor  Pal- 
atines reported  that  their  condition  at  that  time  was  one  of 
great  destitution.  Many  returned  to  Switzerland,  and  others 
crossed  over  to  Alsace. 

It  was  during  this  period  that  large  numbers  of  Palatines 
and  Swiss  Mennonites  emigrated  to  America.  The  churches 
of  Holland  organized  a  "Society  for  Foreign  Relief"  for  the 
purpose  of  helping  their  oppressed  brethren  to  find  homes 
across  the  Atlantic.  The  demands  for  help  became  so  numer- 
ous that  before  1740,  the  Society  had  to  suspend  operations. 
By  1732,  over  three  thousand  had  arrived  at  Rotterdam  from 
the  Palatinate  asking  for  transportation.  These  were  perhaps 
5 


130  THE  MENNONITES 

not  quite  all  Mennonites  nor  were  all  who  asked  given  aid. 
But  then  too,  others  found  their  way  across  without  help  from 
the  Dutch.  These  emigrants,  Mennonites,  and  others  by  the 
thousands  settled  in  Pennsylvania,  New  York  and  in  North 
Carolina.  The  period  of  emigration  extended  from  1710  to 
the  French  and  Indian  war. 

Not  all  Mennonites  left  South  Germany,  however.  Sta- 
tistics compiled  in  1730  show  that  about  Mannheim  there  were 
still  some  twenty-seven  churches  with  six  hundred  and  eigh- 
teen families.  By  the  middle  of  the  century  also,  they  were 
granted  greater  civil  liberties,  while  many  of  the  restrictions 
under  which  they  had  been  living  were  removed.  By  1823, 
there  were  still  over  3300  Mennonites  in  the  Palatinate. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century,  a  number  of 
Palatines  accepted  the  invitation  of  King  Maximilian  to  settle 
in  Bavaria.  Two  congregations  were  established,  one  in  1802 
at  Maxweiler,  and  another  in  1818  at  Eichstock.  The  latter 
emigrated  almost  bodily  to  America  in  the  early  fifties.  At  the 
same  time,  too,  a  number  of  Amish  emigrated  from  Baden  to 
BJavaria.  During  the  second  quarter  also  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  from  1820  to  1860,  large  numbers  of  Mennonites  and 
Amish  emigrated  from  all  the  South  German  states  including 
the  settlements  in  Alsace,  Loraine,  and  also  France,  to  Amer- 
ica partly  for  economic  reasons,  but  largely  also  to  escape  mil- 
itary service. 

During  the  Napoleonic  wars,  the  South  German  Menno- 
nites were  impressed  into  military  service  by  the  French  con- 
queror, although  the  churches  still  clung  to  their  non-resist- 
ant doctrine.  In  1806  many  young  men  were  forced  to  serve. 
After  1815  and  up  to  1866  in  Bavaria,  Baden  and  Wurtem- 
burg  substitutes  could  be  furnished  by  the  young  men,  a  priv- 
ilege accorded  non-Mennonites  also,  but  since  many  were  not 
able  to  buy  a  substitute  nothing  was  left  but  actual  service 
or  emigration.  At  first,  the  entire  church  collected  money  to 
buy  substitutes  for  all  its  young  men,  but  finally  those  having 
no  sons  liable  to  service  objected  to  this  method,  and  after 


GERMANY  131 

that  each  family  had  to  look  out  for  itself.  This  was  the  cause 
during  these  years  of  much  of  the  emigration  from  South  Ger- 
many to  America.  By  the  time  of  the  war  of  1870  such  as  had 
not  yet  emigrated  had  lost  their  non-resistant  principles  and 
most  of  them  entered  active  service. 

The  elders,  however,  had  endeavored  to  retain  the  old 
principles.  In  1803,  some  twenty  churches  from  South  Ger- 
many were  represented  in  a  conference  at  Ibersheim  near 
Worms  at  which  resolutions  were  drawn  up  opposing  military 
service,  and  threatening  all  who  accepted  service,  voluntarily, 
with  excommunication. 

This  conference  occupies  an  important  place  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  South  German  Mennonites,  and  the  resolutions 
adopted  throw  an  interesting  side  light  upon  the  church  prac- 
tise of  that  day.  Among  the  men  responsible  for  the  meet- 
ing were  Valentine  Dahlem,  the  talented  elder  from  Weisbad- 
en,  and  Elder  Peter  Weber  from  Neuwied,  both  of  whom  felt 
the  need  of  a  closer  union  among  the  churches  during  those 
trying  times.  In  addition  to  the  resolutions  respecting  mil- 
itary service,  the  conference  decreed  that  ministers  must  still 
be  selected  by  lot,  and  any  one  refusing  to  accept  the  call  was 
to  be  excommunicated.  Ministers  also  must  live  sober  and 
exemplary  lives.  Excessive  use  of  liquor  was  punishable  by 
loss  of  office  and  excommunication  from  the  church.  Among 
the  members  dancing,  gambling,  attending  theatres,  and  play- 
ing cards  was  forbidden.  Marriage  outside  of  the  fold  was 
punishable  by  excommunication,  and  restoration  could  be  se- 
cured only  upon  confession  of  wrong  doing.  Use  of  unneces- 
sary adornment  was  made  a  matter  of  church  discipline. 
Women  must  not  appear  at  the  communion  table  with  un- 
covered heads. 

Some  of  these  rules  were  more  easily  made  than  enforced, 
however.  It  was  difficult  to  excommunicate  the  young  men 
whom  Napoleon  forced  into  his  armies,  and  in  spite  of  regu- 
lations to  the  contrary,  men  unqualified  for  the  ministry  re- 
fused to  serve  when  struck  by  the  lot.    As  a  result,  there  was 


132  THE  MENNONITES 

frequently  a  lack  of  efficient  leadership  among  many  of  the 
churches,  and  in  order  to  escape  military  service,  many  of  the 
young  men  came  to  America.  There  were  a  few  men,  how- 
ever, who  served  as  good  leaders.  Elder  Dahlem  from  the 
Palatinate  has  already  been  mentioned.  At  the  Ibersheim  con- 
ference, he  was  commissioned  to  draw  up  a  ministers'  manual 
with  formulas  for  various  functions  of  the  church.  This  man- 
ual was  adopted  by  the  churches  and  printed  at  Neuweid  in 
1807.  It  was  in  use  in  South  Germany  for  a  good  many  years, 
and  was  revised  in  1852.  In  1832,  there  was  published  also  a 
new  hymn  book  for  the  Palatine  churches,  entitled  "Christ- 
liches  Gesangbuch,"  and  another  at  Weisbaden  in  1843. 
Among  other  leaders  during  the  first  half  of  the  century  must 
be  mentioned  Michael  Lowenberg  of  Weirhof,  founder  in  1867 
of  the  well  known  Mennonite  school;  Johannes  Molenaar,  of 
Dutch  birth  but  educated  in  the  German  universities  and  pas- 
tor at  Mannheim,  composer  of  a  song  book;  Jacob  Ellen- 
berger,  liberal  minded  pastor  of  several  congregations  respec- 
tively in  Hesse,  Bavaria  and  the  Palatinate,  and  author  of 
"Bilder  aus  der  Pilger  Leben."  The  latter  was  the  organizer 
of  the  first  Mennonite  school  at  Friedelsheim  where  he  was 
pastor  of  the  largest  Mennonite  church  in  the  Palatinate,  and 
as  early  as  1820  tried  to  enlist  the  interest  of  the  church  in  for- 
eign missions. 

Of  special  interest  is  the  "Real  Schule"  at  Weierhof, 
which  was  first  organized  as  a  boy's  school  in  1867  by  a  school 
association.  The  purpose  of  the  promoters  was  to  develop  it 
into  a  seminary  for  training  ministers,  but  the  project  did  not 
prosper.  At  the  time  of  the  death  of  the  founder,  Lowenberg, 
in  1874,  there  were  only  thirty  students,  with  a  heavy  debt. 
During  the  next  ten  years,  the  school  struggled  through  sev- 
eral different  changes  until  in  1884,  it  was  transferred  under 
Dr.  Goebel  into  a  first  class  "Real  Schule"  recognized  by  the 
state  authorities.  Religious  instruction  is  in  charge  of  a  Men- 
nonite minister.  For  some  time,  the  well  known  Christian 
Neff  served  in  that  caoacitv.     The  school  draws  most  of  its 


ULRICH  HEGE 
Late   Editor  Gemeindeblatt. 


GERMANY  133 

students  from  the  local  communities,  but  a  number  of  Rus- 
sian Mennonites  have  attended  in  recent  years  as  have  also  a 
few  from  the  Prussian  and  other  churches. 

Among  other  important  literary  ventures  was  the  found- 
ing of  "Das  Gemeinde  Blatt"  in  1869.  The  first  edition  ap- 
peared the  next  year  under  the  editorship  of  Ulrich  Hege  of 
Reihen,  Baden,  who  remained  editor  until  his  death  in  1897. 
In  1892  appeared  the  first  annual  copy  of  the  Christliche  Ge- 
meinde Kalender  issued  now  by  the  South  German  Confer- 
ence. The  recent  beginning  of  a  comprehensive  Mennonite 
Lexicon  by  Christian  Neff  of  Weierhof  and  Christian  Hege 
promises  to  be  of  greatest  historical  value  and  it  is  to  be  hoped 
that  now  since  the  war  is  over  that  the  work  may  be  com- 
pleted in  due  time. 

For  some  years  two  conferences  have  existed  among  the 
South  Germans,  one  composed  of  the  churches  from  the  Pal- 
atinate, and  Hesse,  and  the  other  of  those  from  Baden,  Wur- 
temburg  and  Bavaria.  Since  1889,  both  of  these  have  held 
annual  meetings.  In  1903,  the  Conference  of  the  South  German 
Mennonites  was  organized  which  included  all  the  congrega- 
tions except  those  of  Alsace. 

The  Mennonite  population  of  South  Germany  in  1914  was 
near  five  thousand,  divided  into  thirty-nine  congregations  ex- 
clusive of  those  in  Alsace  of  which  there  are  eleven.  Wurtem- 
burg  has  three  congregations  ;  Baden,  ten  ;  Bavaria,  seven  ; 
Palatinate,  fourteen ;    and  Hesse  has  five. 


It  will  thus  be  seen  that  the  entire  Mennonite  population 
including  unbaptized  members  of  the  present  German  Em- 
pire before  the  war  was  approximately  twenty  thousand,  less 
than  it  was  one  hundred  years  ago.  One  of  the  chief  causes 
of  this  loss  was  the  emigration  to  America  and  Russia  dur- 
ing the  first  half  of  the  century  to  escape  military  service  and 
to  better  their  economic  situation.  Another  weakness  of  the 
church  was  the  lack  of  unifying  forces.  They  had  no  schools 
of  their  own.    Their  young  men  went  to  state  church  schools 


134  THE  MENNONITES 

and  thus  were  trained  away  from  their  own  faith.  Strict  rules, 
excommunicating  members  marrying  outside  of  the  fold  also 
lost  many  to  the  church.  In  recent  years  there  has  been  a 
growing  interest  in  missionary  work.  Most  of  the  congrega- 
tions support  the  missionary  society  controlled  by  the  Dutch 
Mennonites.  In  Prussia  many  of  the  churches  have  hospitals 
and  homes  for  the  aged.  The  two  papers,  "Mennonitische 
Blaetter"  and  "Das  Gemeinde  Blatt,"  the  school  at  Weierhof, 
and  the  organization  of  conferences,  especially  the  General 
Conference  of  the  Mennonites  of  the  German  Empire  which 
in  1914  represented  two-thirds  of  the  German  Mennonites, — 
all  these  agencies  during  the  last  fifty  years  have  done  some- 
thing to  unify  the  German  churches,  but  none  exert  the  same 
moulding  influence  over  the  membership  at  large  as  do  sim- 
ilar institutions  in  America. 

The  German  Mennonites  especially  in  the  city  churches 
in  the  north  have  departed  in  certain  fundamentals  from  the 
paths  of  the  fathers.  Practically  all  as  already  indicated 
have  given  up  their  non-resistance.  In  1870,  as  was  seen, 
many  of  the  North  German  Mennonites  with  the  exception 
of  the  churches  along  the  Dutch  border  in  East  Friesland 
and  along  the  Rhine  took  advantage  of  the  Cabinet  order  of 
1868,  but  the  South  Germans  who  did  not  come  under  the 
order  of  1868  entered  for  the  most  part  active  service.  By 
1914,  however,  all  had  ceased  to  be  non-resistant.  Several 
causes  for  this  change  are  given  by  the  Germans  them- 
selves. First,  the  Cabinet  order  of  1868  permitting  non- 
combatant  service  was  limited  to  the  descendants  of  the  old 
Mennonites  only,  and  such  as  entered  the  church  since,  who 
were  not  of  the  old  families  did  not  have  this  advantage ; 
neither  did  it  apply  to  children  of  those  marrying  outside  the 
Mennonite  church ;  universal  military  training  in  times  of 
peace  paved  the  way  for  an  easy  transition  to  universal 
service  in  time  of  war;  finally,  too,  the  opinion  prevailed  that 
their  patriotism  demanded  that  they  serve  the  fatherland. 
For  some  time,  the  church  has  had  a  special    commission    to 


GERMANY  135 

look  after  the  spiritual  interests  of  the  Mennonite  young  men 
in  the  training  barracks. 

From  the  files  of  the  Mennonitishe  Blaetter,  we  learn 
that  evidently  very  few  in  this  recent  war  attempted  to  take 
advantage  of  the  old  Cabinet  order  of  1868,  if  indeed  that 
order  is  still  effective.  At  the  opening  of  the  war,  for  the 
purpose  of  discouraging  any  pacifist  tendencies  among  the 
population,  the  Municipal  theatre  of  Berlin  placed  upon  the 
stage  Wildenbruch's  "Der  Mennonit"  written  in  1882.  The 
principal  character  in  this  drama  is  a  Mennonite  living  in  the 
year  1809,  whom  the  dramatist  brings  to  a  tragic  end  after 
renouncing  his  faith  on  the  alleged  grounds  that  it  was  not 
consistent  with  his  patriotism.  The  Mennonite  population  in 
Berlin  and  elsewhere  insisted  that  the  play  did  not  do  them 
justice,  and  anyway  they  were  no  longer  opposed  to  military 
service.  Whereupon  the  play  was  taken  off  the  stage  by 
order  of  the  authorities.  At  the  close  of  the  first  year  of  the 
war,  August  1915,  it  was  estimated  that  2,000  young  men 
were  in  the  service,  one-fourth  of  them  officers.  Since  the 
Mennonite  population  is  only  about  20,000,  that  means  that 
one  out  of  every  ten  of  the  Mennonite  population  was  in  the 
war  during  that  first  year.  During  the  same  time,  too,  we 
learn  from  the  September,  1915,  issue  that  of  these  one 
hundred  and  fifteen  had  already  been  killed  in  battle,  ninety- 
five  had  been  wounded,  and  twenty-three  had  been  taken 
prisoner  or  were  missing.  Ninety  had  received  the  iron  cross. 
During  the  remaining  three  years  of  the  war  the  losses  were 
equally  heavy  and  finally  became  so  painful  that  their 
publication  in  the  "Mennonitische  Blaetter"  was  forbidden 
by  the  authorities. 

The  Mennonite  communities  in  the  battle  zones  in  Alsace 
and  in  Galicia,  of  course,  suffered  severely,  and  for  these 
special  collections  were  made  throughout  the  remaining 
churches.  Toward  their  Russian  brethren  the  German  Men- 
nonites  maintained  a  brotherly  regard.  A  special  effort  was 
made  to  alleviate  the  burdens  of    such    Russian     Mennonite 


136  THE  MENNONITES 

prisoners  as  were  held  in  the  prison  camps.  Before  this 
book  comes  from  the  press,  communication  with  Germany 
and  Russia  will  undoubtedly  be  opened  and  many  facts  on 
the  experiences  of  the  Mennonites  in  this  war  will  be 
available. 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  137 


CHAPTER  VI. 
AUSTRIA-HUNGARY 

Moravia. 

As  we  saw  in  Chapter  I,  persecuted  Anabaptists  quite 
early  in  the  history  of  the  movement  found  their  way  from 
Switzerland  and  south  Germany  into  Tyrol,  Austria,  Styria, 
Carinthia  and  into  Moravia,  where  in  the  latter  country 
they  found  a  refuge  on  the  estates  of  the  tolerant  noblemen, 
John  and  Leonhard  Liechtenstein.  In  course  ftf  time,  the 
movement  was  exterminated  throughout  the  Hapsburg  pos- 
sessions, but  it  held  on  longest  in  Moravia.  The  surviving 
Moravian  Anabaptists  all  came  to  adopt  the  communism  of 
Jacob  Huter,  a  Tyrolean  hatter,  and  were  called  after  him 
Huterites.  Huter  himself  spent  his  time  between  Tyrol  and 
Moravia,  and  was  executed  at  Innsbruck  in  1536,  after  being 
subjected  to  the  most  cruel  torture  in  an  attempt  to  secure  his 
recantation.  The  Huterite  communities  were  found  in  the 
extreme  southern  portion  of  Moravia  in  the  valleys  of  the 
March  and  Thaya  rivers.  Here  except  for  a  short  period  in 
1535  and  1536,  they  lived  comparative^  unmolested  until 
1547,  and  during  that  time  they  received  many  refugees  of 
their  faith  from  other  less  tolerant  lands  near  by. 

Beginning  with  1547,  however,  and  lasting  until  1554,  a 
period  of  bitter  persecution  set  in.  Both  King  Ferdinand 
and  Emperor  Charles  were  determined  to  completely  ex- 
terminate Anabaptists  not  only  within  Moravia,  but 
throughout  the  Hapsburg  possessions.  In  spite  of  the 
tolerance  of  the  Liechtensteins  and  other  noblemen,  they 
were  driven  from  their    homes,  and  for    seven     years       they 


138  THE  MENNONITES 

were  compelled  to  wander  about  in  the  forests  and  waste 
places,  and  hide  in  caves  and  seek  a  shelter  amid  the  rocks, 
finding  food  wherever  they  could.  "Gladly,"  says  a 
chronicler  of  the  time,  "would  they  have  shared  a  roof  with 
the  cattle  and  swine,  but  even  that  was  denied  them."  No  one 
dared  under  severe  penalty  give  them  relief,  sell  them  food  or 
clothing,  nor  engage  them  to  work.  They  were  declared 
outlaws,  which  gave  robbers  and  ruffians  a  right  to  attack 
them  with  impunity,  an  opportunity  which  the  latter  were  by 
no  means  slow  to  take  advantage  of. 

Better  days  were  ahead,  however.  In  1554  began  an  era 
of  comparative  peace  and  prosperity  which  lasted  nearly 
throughout  the  century,  and  which  was  called  by  the  Huterite 
chroniclers  "The  Golden  Age."  During  this  time  the  church 
became  prosperous,  and  added  a  number  of  recruits.  Some 
writers  estimate  that  at  the  time  of  greatest  prosperity,  the 
Huterite  population  was  as  high  as  70,000;  others  put  the  num- 
ber at  15,000.  The  latter  estimate  is  undoubtedly  more  nearly 
correct  than  the  former.  Many  refugees  came  from  Swit- 
zerland and  Germany.  During  this  period,  too,  many  mis- 
sionaries were  sent  out  to  preach  the  Gospel  and  invite  the 
persecuted  in  other  lands  to  come  to  Moravia,  the  Promised 
Land.  This  was  a  dangerous  undertaking  on  the  part  of  the 
missionaries,  for  Anabaptist  teachers  were  still  outlawed 
throughout  the  empire.  The  records  of  the  time  are  full  of 
the  names  of  these  missionaries  who  suffered  a  cruel  death 
for  the  sake  of  their  faith  in  Switzerland  and  Germany. 

In  1558,  Hans  Raiffer,  a  smith  by  trade  and  a  minister, 
was  apprehended  on  his  way  to  the  Netherlands.  After 
being  put  through  the  most  cruel  torture  on  the  rack  in  the 
hope  of  turning  him  from  his  faith,  he  was  tied  to  a  stake  with 
a  rope  about  his  neck,  and  a  chain  about  his  limbs  and 
burned.  The  executioners  said  they  were  reluctant  to  carry 
out  these  orders,  but  if  they  did  not  the  king  or  the  new  em- 
peror would  punish  them.  In  1566  a  minister  was  drowned  at 
Venice,  and  another  was    executed    with  the  sword  at    Inns- 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  139 

bruck.  In  1571,  Wolf  Binder  was  arrested  in  Bavaria  and 
stretched  on  the  rack  until  it  seemed  "the  sun  would  shine 
through  him."  After  singing  a  song  of  his  own  composition 
he  was  beheaded.  As  late  as  1618  the  chroniclers  record  the 
imprisonment,  torture  and  execution  in  Tyrol  of  Jost  Wil- 
helm,  a  well-to-do  Moravian  missionary.  By  1581  it  was 
estimated  by  one  authority  that  over  two  thousand  Moravians 
had  been  executed  in  other  lands  while  engaged  in  their 
missionary  endeavors.  How  reliable  these  figures  are  we  have 
no  way  of  knowing. 

As  has  already  been  suggested,  the  Huterites  agreed  with 
the  Anabaptists  elsewhere  known  as  Mennonites  in  all  the 
essential  Anabaptist  doctrines,  such  as  adult  baptism,  oath, 
magistracy,  non-resistance,  and  the  Lord's  Supper.  They 
also  refused  to  pay  war  taxes.  For  a  long  time,  they  were  in 
rather  close  touch  with  the  Mennonites  in  Switzerland  and 
South  Germany.  They  usually  attended  important  general 
conferences,  being  represented  at  the  Strasburg  meeting 
of  1557  where  Menno  Simons'  Wismar  rules  were  discussed. 
In  times  of  distress  they  called  upon  their  Dutch  Mennonite 
brethren  for  help.  Although  they  did  not  bear  the  name 
Mennonite,  they  must  be  included  in  any  history  of  that  body 
of  believers. 

In  one  important  matter,  however,  they  differed  from  the 
other  Anabaptists  known  as  Mennonites.  They  were  com- 
munists, working  together  for  a  common  fund  and  eating  at 
common  tables.  When  a  new  member  joined  their  company, 
he  turned  over  all  his  property  into  the  common  treasury,  and 
if  for  any  cause,  he  later  left  the  group  he  could  not  reclaim 
his  contribution.  They  were, divided  into  communities  called 
"Bruderhofs,"  (Households)  consisting  of  from  four  hundred 
to  one  thousand  people.  Their  religious  officials  were  bishops. 
in  charge  of  an  entire  settlement ;  "ministers  of  the  Word," 
preachers  chosen  by  lot  for  each  household ;  and  "ministers  of 
need"  who  looked  after  the  temporal  needs  of  the  group. 
These  officials  had  almost  unlimited  power  in  the  administra- 


140  THE  MENNONITES 

tion  of  affairs.  Children  were  brought  up  in  communal 
nurseries  until  they  were  six  years  of  age,  and  after  that  in 
communal  schools,  where  the  course  of  study  consisted  almost 
entirely  of  religion  and  the  useful  arts,  until  they  were  old 
enough  to  take  their  place  in  the  communal  scheme  of  active 
workers.  Members  were  baptized  upon  confession  of  faith 
only,  and  supposedly  only  upon  their  own  request,  but  since 
religious  instruction  became  a  part  of  the  daily  discipline, 
almost  from  the  cradle  children  were  baptized  very  early, 
often  as  young  as  five  years.  Widows  and  orphans  were  care- 
fully looked  after,  and  in  normal  times  pauperism  was  un- 
known. No  one  dared  do  business  for  himself,  but  all  worked 
for  the  common  good. 

Because  of  their  industry  and  skill,  the  Huterite  com- 
munities became  wealthy.  Their  households  were  spoken  of 
as  Bee  Hives.  They  excelled  in  farming,  stock  raising  and 
mechanical  arts.  From  their  stables  came  the  finest  horses  and 
the  best  stock  in  the  land,  while  their  cutlery,  woolens  and 
linens  could  not  be  surpassed  in  quality  anywhere.  Their 
public  baths  were  famous  and  were  frequented  by  the  nobility. 
Their  doctors  were  among  the  most  skilled.  A  chronicle  of 
1581  says,  "In  this  year,  Emperor  Rudolf  at  Prague  sent  for 
our  doctor  George  Zobel.  Through  the  grace  of  God,  he  was 
again  restored  to  health."  The  noblemen  came  to  regard  the 
Huterites  as  necessary  to  the  economic  welfare  of  the 
country.  In  1567  when  Emperor  Maximilian  attempted  to 
renew  the  decrees  against  them,  the  nobility  in  the  Moravian 
Landtag,  by  convincing  the  emperor  that  if  the  Huterites 
were  banished,  the  country  would  lose  its  most  efficient 
farmers  and  its  most  skilled  mechanics,  secured  a  postpone- 
ment of  the  proposed  measures  and  finally  its  annulment.  A 
detailed  statement  of  the  faith  and  practises  of  the  Huterite 
brethren  is  found  in  the  "Account  of  our  Religion  and  Faith" 
written  in  1543  by  Peter  Riedeman,  a  well-known  minister. 
This  Confession  has  recently  been  published  for  the  first  time 
in  America  by  the  South  Dakota  Huterites. 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  141 

The  most  common  charge  against  communism  is  that  it 
encourages  idleness.  The  records  show  that  the  Huterite 
Households  were  not  an  exception  to  the  common  rule.  In 
1640  it  was  agreed  in  the  Levar  community  in  a  meeting  of 
the  officials,  that  since  there  were  so  many  holidays  to  be 
observed  during  the  week,  laborers  should  work  all  day  on 
Saturday.  For  with  too  much  idleness,  they  said,  it  would 
not  be  possible  to  support  their  wives,  children,  the  old  and 
the  weak.  Again  at  a  great  meeting  at  Sabotisch  ten  years 
later,  it  was  deemed  necessary  to  warn  the  farmers  that  in 
harvest  and  threshing  time  they  should  be  more  industrious, 
and  should  not  take  from  three  to  four  days  to  do  what  ought 
to  be  accomplished  in  one  or  two.  The  laborers  in  the  vine- 
yards are  told  that  even  the  neighbors  complain  "how  our 
people  waste  so  much  time  in  going  to  work,  and  those  in  the 
lead  even  sit  down  to  wait  for  those  in  the  rear  to  catch  up." 
When  lunch  is  carried  to  them  in  the  fields  and  vineyards, 
"they  do  little  before  they  eat  and  then  they  sit  another  hour 
before  they  begin  work."  The  workers  are  urged  to  do  their 
work  well  so  that  the  church  may  not  lose  its  good  name. 

Trading  and  working  for  oneself  was  strictly  forbidden 
the  individual.  No  one  was  even  to  possess  his  own  hen  or 
dove.  That  it  was  not  always  easy  to  enforce  this  rule  is 
shown  by  a  complaint  made  in  the  Dechtitz  community  in 
1641,  that  many  of  the  tradesmen  kept  some  of  the  money 
which  every  two  weeks  should  be  turned  over  to  the  commu- 
nity treasurer.  One  cutler  was  found  with  one  hundred  knives 
in  his  possession. 

Discipline  extended  into  the  minutest  details  of  everyday 
living  and  thinking.  In  a  meeting  with  the  elders  at  the  above 
place,  the  sisters  were  warned  not  to  be  so  proud  and  not  to 
violate  the  rules  of  the  church  by  secretly  making  such  fine 
knives  for  themselves  with  green  knobs  and  pearl  handles,  for 
one  act  of  pride,  the  ministers  said,  leads  to  another.  Even 
the  young  men  tried  to  imitate  all  the  newest  fashions,  parting 
their  hair  like  the  soldiers,  and  buying  from  the  Jews  all  the 


142  THE  MENNONITES 

latest  cuts  of  clothing.  All  these  are  requested  to  buy  only 
from  the  community  stores  after  this. 

The  "Golden  Age"  closed  with  the  renewal  of  persecution 
in  1592.  From  now  on  through  the  entire  seventeenth  and 
the  first  half  of  the  eighteenth  centuries  the  history  of  the 
Huterites  is  one  continued  story  of  ruin  and  devastation,  first 
because  of  the  Thirty  Years'  War,  later  because  of  the 
Turkish  invasions,  and  finally  because  of  persecution  at  the 
hands  of  the  Jesuit  clergy. 

In  the  Thirty  Years'  War,  a  system  of  plundering  was  in- 
augurated by  both  armies  which  completely  ravished  the 
lands  through  which  the  wandering  bands  of  soldiers 
marched.  The  Huterite  Households  because  of  their  fine 
horses,  fat  cattle  and  well-filled  granaries,  were  singled  out  as 
especially  desirable  prizes.  In  1619  twelve  Households  were 
completely  burned  to  the  ground;  seventeen  others  greatly 
damaged;  forty  men  and  women  were  cut  down  in  cold  blood, 
and  two  hundred  horses  and  all  their  cattle,  swine  and  sheep 
were  driven  away.  "Many  dear  people,"  the  chronicler  says, 
"were  cut  down  so  cruelly  and  tortured  so  unmercifully  as  to 
cause  such  distress  and  misery  as  no  man  can  conceive."  The 
next  year  the  community  at  Pribitz  was  attacked  by  fifteen 
hundred  troops  and  completely  destroyed.  In  three  hours 
fifty-two  of  the  men  were  killed,  and  seventeen  men  and  wom- 
en so  badly  mutilated  that  they  died  within  a  few  days. 
Every  sort  of  cruel  and  inhuman  punishment  was  resorted  to 
by  the  marauders.  For  the  purpose  of  securing  money,  they 
"burned  them  with  hot  irons  and  flaming  torches,  poured  hot 
grease  over  their  bare  bodies,  cut  deep  wounds  into  their 
flesh,  which  they  then  filled  with  powder  and  ignited  it, 
jerked  off  their  fingers,  slashed  into  them  with  their  swords  as 
if  they  were  cabbage  heads.  One  brother's  head  they  twisted 
completely  around  so  that  he  faced  straight  backward." 

On  top  of  these  terrible  sufferings  from  the  fortunes  of 
war,  came  the  imperial  order  in  September,  1622,  that  within 
four  weeks  they  must  all  leave  the  land  on  penalty  of    severe 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  143 

punishment.  The  tolerant  Liechtensteins  on  whose  estates 
they  had  settled  one  hundred  years  earlier,  had  in  the  mean- 
time been  succeeded  by  the  bigoted  family  of  Deitrichstein 
and  it  was  through  the  influence  of  Cardinal  van  Deitrichstein 
that  the  imperial  order  was  issued.  The  poor  people  plead 
that  they  might  at  least  be  given  until  the  next  spring  to  leave, 
but  all  in  vain.  In  the  midst  of  a  cold  winter  they  were  chased, 
some  twenty  thousand  of  them,  empty-handed  across  the  bor- 
der to  search  for  new  homes.  Some  of  them  located  in  Hun- 
gary, where  a  group  of  their  brethren  had  started  a  community 
at  Sabotisch  as  early  as  1546.  Others  upon  invitation  from  the 
prince  founded  a  settlement  at  Alwintz,  in  the  principality  of 
Siebenbergen. 

But  even  here  they  fared  little  better  than  before.  Their 
communities  were  overrun  at  first  by  imperial  troops 
throughout  the  Thirty  Years'  War,  and  after  1648  by  Turks 
and  Tartars  who  made  occasional  raids  into  these  regions, 
throughout  the  latter  half  of  the  century.  Many  of  the  men 
were  killed,  and  many  of  the  women  and  children  were  car- 
ried away  by  the  Turks  as  captives  often  to  meet  a  fate  worse 
than  death.  So  great  became  the  misery  and  poverty  of  the 
Huterites  finally  that  in  1639,  they  were  compelled  to  seek  aid 
from  the  Dutch  Mennonites.  In  1667,  too,  because  of  severe 
trials  they  were  forced  to  give  up  their  communism,  and  each 
family  had  to  shift  for  itself. 

With  1674  also  began  an  aggressive  campaign  on  the  part 
of  the  Jesuit  clergy  to  force  the  Huterites  back  into  the 
Catholic  church.  Despairing  of  converting  the  adults,  they 
hoped  to  destroy  the  faith  by  gaining  control  of  the  youth.  In 
1688  children  were  ordered  to  be  baptized,  orders  which  were 
repeatedly  disobeyed  and  renewed  during  the  next  half  cen- 
tury, and  which  led  to  many  imprisonments.  In  course  of 
time,  too,  the  Huterites  were  forbidden  to  hold  meetings  of 
their  own,  and  ordered  to  attend  those  of  the  Jesuits.  Their 
members  had  to  be  married  by  the  officials  of  the  state  church. 
Their  own  schools  were  put    under  the    ban.    Books    dealing 


144  THE  MENNONITES 

with  their  own  faith    were    confiscated    while    those  of    the 
Catholic  faith  were  supplied. 

As  a  result  of  these  measures,  a  number  of  the  brethren 
were  won  back  into  the  church,  but  were  permitted  to  retain 
certain  features  of  their  faith  including-  non-resistance  and  a 
somewhat  separate  organization.  These  were  popularly 
known  as  "Habaner,"  but  were  spoken  of  as  "Step-brothers" 
by  the  Huterite  chronicler.  Others  left  for  Prussia  and 
Holland. 

The  number  of  the  faithful  as  a  result  of  all  these 
measures  was  greatly  reduced  in  Hungary.  By  1750  in 
Sabotisch  and  Levar,  the  leading  settlements,  there  were  left 
only  four  hundred  members,  and  these  were  unable  to  hold 
out  much  longer  against  the  persistent  oppression  of  the 
Jesuits.  Finally  by  1767  nearly  all  left  Hungary  and  Sieben- 
gergen  for  Wallachia  where  they  hoped  to  begin  life  anew. 
But  here,  too,  they  were  unfortunate.  The  Russian-Turkish 
war  reduced  them  to  great  misery.  They  finally  came  under 
the  notice  of  the  Russian  Field  Marshal,  Count  Romanizov, 
who  in  1770,  invited  them  to  settle  on  his  own  estates  in  the 
province  of  Tschernigof,  at  Wischenka,  near  Baturin  on  the 
Desna  river,  where  they  again  organized  their  communism. 

Here  they  remained  for  some  time  until  after  the  death  of 
Romanizov  in  1796.  The  count's  successor  attempted  to  re- 
duce the  Huterites  to  serfdom,  whereupon  they  left  their 
homes  again  and  settled  upon  Crown  lands  at  Radichew.  In 
the  meantime  at  the  latter  place  a  division  occurred  among 
them.  About  half  of  their  number  following  the  lead  of  Jacob 
Walter  left  the  community  and  settled  upon  homes  of  their 
own.  The  remnant  finally  in  1842  removed  to  Crown  lands  in 
the  Molotschna  where  they  first  founded  the  community  of 
Huterthal.  Ten  years  later  another  community  was 
organized  at  Johannesruh,  and  several  years  later  two  more 
groups  were  formed.  Finally  in  1874,  upon  the  introduction 
of  universal  military    service  in    Russia     these     people    emi- 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  145 

grated  bodily  to  America,  settling  in  several  localities  in  the 
James  river  valley  in  South  Dakota. 

Galicia. 

The  only  Mennonites  left  in  modern  Austria-Hungary  to- 
day are  to  be  found  in  Galicia  in  the  region  of  Lemberg. 
These  have  no  historical  connection  with  the  Huterites,  but 
are  the  descendants  of  the  Swiss  and  German  immigrants  in 
the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth  century.  Emperor  Joseph  in 
1781,  like  the  Empress  of  Russia  a  few  years  later,  issued  a 
patent  inviting  industrious  German  settlers  to  locate  on  his 
poorly  cultivated  estates  in  Galicia,  which  had  been  his  share 
of  the  booty  in  the  recent  partitioning  of  Poland.  Large  num- 
bers of  Germans  accepted  the  invitation  settling  in  all  some 
one  hundred  and  fifty  colonies.  Among  these  in  1784  were 
twenty-eight  Mennonite  families  from  Hesse  and  Switzerland, 
all  originally  of  Swiss  descent.  They  formed  three  small 
colonies  at  Einsidel,  Falkenstein  and  Rosenberg. 

The  terms  offered  by  the  Emperor  were  exceedingly 
liberal.  The  Mennonites  were  granted  religious  toleration 
and  military  exemption.  Each  family  was  granted  a  farm  of 
thirty  to  forty  acres,  including  buildings  and  sufficient  money 
for  equipment,  besides  tax  exemption  for  ten  years.  Un- 
fortunately these  twenty  odd  families  could  not  stand  prosper- 
ity, for  they  soon  fell  to  quarreling  among  themselves.  Some 
of  them  may  have  been  of  the  Amish  or  conservative  Men- 
nonite persuasion,  for  they  were  divided  into  the  "hookers" 
and  the  "buttoners."  As  a  result  ten  families  left  in  the  begin- 
ning of  the  last  century  for  Russia. 

During  the  next  three  quarters  of  a  century,  however, 
the  small  colonies  maintained  a  steady  growth.  During  the 
middle  years  three  new  colonies  were  established  nearby, — 
Neuhof,  Horozona,  and  Kiernica.  During  the  early  eighties 
desire  to  better  their  material  condition,  spurred  on  by  ir- 
responsible agents  of  the  big  steamship  companies  induced 
about  fifty  families,  about  half  of  the     entire     population,     to 


146  THE  MENNONITES 

emigrate  to  America.  These  settled  in  Butterfield,  Minnesota, 
but  later  some  went  to  Kansas.  The  entire  Mennonite  popu- 
lation at  this  time  was  about  seven  hundred.  The  remaining 
members  became  still  more  widely  scattered.  The  same 
economic  pressure  led  others  to  leave  their  small  farms  and 
venture  to  buy  large  estates,  while  those  who  could  not  pur- 
chase estates  entered  upon  them  as  tenants.  In  this  way  the 
original  compact  colonies  have  become  widely  scattered.  In 
1912,  the  total  Mennonite  population  in  Galicia  was  five 
hundred  and  ninety-one,  of  whom  three  hundred  and  ninety- 
six  were  baptized  members,  living  in  one  hundred  and  one 
hamlets  and  villages,  in  the  general  region  of  Lemberg. 
Services  were  held  alternately  in  nine  different  localities  with- 
in a  distance  of  from  twenty  to  one  hundred  miles  from  the 
capital  city.  In  1911  a  church  was  erected  in  Lemberg  which 
is  the  most  accessible  for  the  largest  number  of  the  scattered 
members.  Practically  the  only  churcTT  institution  is  a  fund  for 
supporting  educated  ministers  established  by  Peter  Kintzi 
in  1905.  In  1912  the  bishop  was  Heinrich  Pauls,  educated  at 
the  missionary  school  at  Basel  and  at  the  university  at  Halle. 
In  1913  Pauls  sent  out  invitations  to  all  the  leading  Menno- 
nites  of  the  world  for  a  world  conference  to  be  held  at  Lem- 
berg, but  the  response  was  not  sufficiently  favorable  to  justify 
the  calling  of  the  conference. 

During  the  recent  war,  the  Galician  Mennonite  settle- 
ments were  in  the  very  center  of  the  battle  zone  in  1915  and 
1916,  and  the  community  suffered  serious  loss,  while  a  num- 
ber of  their  men  either  fell  in  battle  or  were  carried  away  by 
the  Russians. 


RUSSIA  147 


CHAPTER  VII. 

RUSSIA. 

To  the  student  of  Mennonite  affairs  the  history  of  the 
Russian  Mennonites  furnishes  a  pleasing  contrast  to  that  of 
their  brethren  in  the  other  countries  already  mentioned. 
Instead  of  persecution  and  repression  they  meet  here  in  the 
land  of  the  most  arbitrary  ruler  of  Europe  the  greatest  en- 
couragement to  expand  their  settlements  and  the  greatest 
liberty  to  practise  their  beliefs  according  to  their  convictions. 
They  furnish  an  interesting  example,  too,  of  the  course  Men- 
nonitism  would  take  where  it  is  free  to  apply  its  principles, 
economic  and  political  as  well  as  religious  to  every-day  life. 

The  Mennonites  of  Russia  are  Germans,  and  the  first 
settlements  were  made  during  the  reign  of  Catherine  the 
Great,  who  became  ruler  of  all  the  Russias  in  1763. 
Catherine,  although  unprincipled  and  cruel,  was  a  woman  of 
remarkable  ability  and  political  foresight,  and  did  much  for 
the  political  and  industrial  development  of  her  empire.  During 
her  reign  she  extended  the  confines  of  her  empire  to  the 
Black  and  Caspian  seas  at  the  expense  of  Turkey  with  whom 
she  carried  on  several  wars.  These  regions  were  inhabited 
by  half-wild,  nomadic  bands  of  Turks  and  Tartars,  and  much 
of  the  conquered  territory  became  Crown  land,  which  she 
wished  to  develop  to  its  fullest  extent.  Being  herself  a  Ger- 
man, she  naturally  turned  to  overcrowded  Germany,  appeal^ 
ing  especially  to  oppressed  people  for  model  colonists  for  her 
territories  on  the  broad  steppes  in  Southern  Russia.  In  an 
invitation  of  1763  especially  liberal  terms  were  offered  all 
German  colonists.  All  emigrants  were  promised  free  trans- 
portation ;  religious  toleration  with  the  right  to  establish  their 


148  THE  MENNONITES 

own  schools,  churches  and  forms  of  local  government ;  loans 
to  establish  factories  and  other  industries,  and  military  exemp- 
tion. 

As  a  result  of  these  inviting  terms  thousands  of  Germans, 
mostly  Prussians,  of  every  faith  found  their  way  into  South 
Russia,  during  the  next  forty  years.  Especially  attractive, 
however,  was  the  offer  to  those  religious  sects  who  were  more 
or  less  restricted  in  their  religious  and  civil  liberties  under 
Prussian  rule.  One  of  the  first  of  these  groups  was  a  colony 
of  Moravian  brethren  who  established  a  colony  for  missionary 
purposes  along  the  Mohammedan  frontier  near  Saratov  in 
1763.  The  Huterites,  too,  as  we  saw,  left  Moravia  in  1767, 
settling  in  Wallachia  near  Bucharest.  But  falling  prey  to  the 
robber  bands,  which  followed  in  the  wake  of  the  Turkish  wars, 
they  fled  from  their  brief  resting  place,  and  after  wandering 
about  for  a  short  time  they  finally  found  an  asylum  in  Russia 
on  the  estates  of  a  nobleman,  Count  Romanizov,  at  Wishenka, 
in  the  province  of  Tscheringov.  Here  they  prospered  and  re- 
mained until  1800,  when  in  order  to  escape  serfdom  at  the 
hands  of  the  successor  to  their  benefactor,  they  moved  upon 
Crown  lands  some  few  miles  north  where  they  organize:!  a 
colony  of  five  Bruderhofs.  They  finally  fell  to  quarreling 
among  themselves  and  one  part  emigrated  to  the  Chortitz 
colony,  while  the  remainder,  in  1842,  emigrated  to  Melitopol 
in  Taurien  where  they  founded  Huterthal  near  the  Molots- 
chna  colony.  In  1853  Johannesberg  was  established  nearby, 
and  a  few  years  later  in  1857,  Hutersdorf  and  New  Hutersthal 
respectively.    These  groups  emigrated  to  America  in  1874. 

A  special  invitation  was  extended  to  the  Mennonites  of 
West  Prussia  in  1786.  Just  a  few  years  preceding,  Catherine 
had  wrested  additional  territory  from  Turkey  about  the 
Azov  sea — present  Crimea  and  Taurien.  In  Taurien  alone 
500,000  acres  became  Crown  lands.  Upon  these  she  desired 
to  place  industrious  farmers  whose  farms  might  serve  as 
models  for  the  surrounding  nomadic  tribes.  She  had  perhaps 
learned  of  the  industrious  Mennonites  and  how  they  had  de- 


RUSSIA  149 

veloped  the  lowlands  of  the  Vistula  through  her  generals  who 
had  spent  several  winters  in  West  Prussia  during  the  Seven 
Years'  War.  At  any  rate  in  the  above  mentioned  year  a 
special  invitation  was  given  by  Catherine  to  the  Mennonites 
of  the  Vistula,  through  her  consul  at  Danzig  to  settle  on  her 
Crown  lands  in  South  Russia.  Coming  just  when  it  did,  at  a 
time  when  their  religious  liberties  were  being  restricted  by 
their  own  Government,  the  West  Prussian  churches  regarded 
this  offer  as  an  act  of  Providence.  Two  deputies,  Jacob 
Hoeppner  and  Johann  Bartch,  were  immediately  sent,  though 
only  semi-officially  because  of  opposition  from  the  Prussian 
Government,  to  investigate  the  new  locality.  Accompanied 
by  George  van  Trappe,  the  Russian  agent,  these  men  left  im- 
mediately in  the  fall  of  1786,  and  returned  one  year  later  after 
thoroughly  investigating  various  sites  along  the  lower 
Dnieper,  and  meeting  the  Empress  and  the  Crown  Prince 
Paul,  as  well  as  Prince  Potempkin  the  governor  of  New 
Russia.  Liberal  terms  were  promised  at  St.  Petersburg  to  all 
Mennonites  who  should  desire  to  emigrate,  such  as  religious 
toleration  including  military  exemption,  sixty-five  dessiatines 
(175  acres)  of  land  for  each  family,  use  of  the  Crown  forests, 
tax  exemption  for  ten  years,  and  no  Crown  dues  after  that, 
but  an  annual  fee  of  fifteen  kopeks  (seven  and  one-half  cents) 
per  dessiatine,  a  monopoly  of  the  distilleries  and  breweries 
within  any  settlement  (belonging  otherwise  to  the  nobility 
only),  free  transportation  to  their  new  homes,  a  loan  of  five 
hundred  rubles  ($250.00)  to  each  family,  and  support  for  each 
family  at  the  rate  of  ten  kopeks  per  day  for  each  person  until 
the  first  harvest. 

Through  the  efforts  of  the  returned  deputies,  and  es- 
pecially the  Russian  agent,  van  Trappe,  great  interest  was 
aroused  in  the  proposed  emigration  throughout  the  Vistula 
churches.  The  Prussian  Government,  however,  while  ham- 
pering the  further  growth  of  the  Mennonites,  yet  was  not 
willing  to  lose  such  prosperous  and  industrious  farmers. 
Passports  were  consequently  withheld  from     those  who     had 


150  THE  MENNONITES 

property,  and  so  the  first  Russian  colony  was  made  up  entire- 
ly of  the  poorer  people.  By  the  fall  of  1788  over  two  hundred 
families  had  begun  the  long  journey  by  way  of  the  Baltic  to 
Riga  and  then  overland  to  the  Dnieper,  down  that  stream  to 
the  site  selected  for  them  on  the  Chortitz,  a  small  branch 
joining  the  Dnieper  about  fifty  miles  below  the  town  of 
Ekaterinoslav  in  the  province  of  the  same  name. 

The  first  winter  they  were  forced  to  spend  enroute  at 
Dubrowna,  because  of  threatened  dangers  of  Turkish  raids 
upon  their  frontier  settlements,  since  war  was  being  waged 
against  Turkey  at  this  time.  While  here  their  number  was 
increased  to  two  hundred  and  twenty-eight  families,  all  of 
whom  were  supported  by  the  Russian  Government  until 
they  reached  their  home  on  the  Chortitz  in  the  summer  of 
1789.  Later  colonists  came  directly  overland  from  Danzig  by 
way  of  Brest-Litovsk,  Ostrog  and  Ekaterinoslav,  the  journey 
lasting  about  twenty  days.  In  1797  one  hundred  and  eighteen 
more  families  came,  and  by  1800  the  colony  numbered  over 
four  hundred  families. 

Chortitz 

The  Chortitz  region  was  hilly  with  a  rather  barren,  rocky 
soil  without  any  trees,  but  heavily  covered  with  grass  and 
well-adapted  to  stock  raising.  Being  poor  and  inexperienced 
in  the  best  methods  of  cultivating  their  new  farms,  these  first 
colonies  suffered  the  usual  hardships  of  pioneers.  Eight 
villages  were  laid  out.  The  first  houses  were  made  of  mud 
walls  with  thatched  roofs.  A  long  rainy  spell  during  the  first 
August  did  not  add  to  their  comfort.  Their  food  was  poor, 
consisting  largely  of  a  mush  made  from  a  mouldy  rye  flour 
secured  from  distant  Russian  supply  granaries.  A  number 
died  of  dysentery  in  the  early  period.  Government  support 
now  that  they  had  reached  their  destination  was  meager. 
During  the  first  winter,  however,  many  families  had  to  be 
cared  for  by  the  Government  in  the  nearby  fort  of  Alexan- 
drowsk.  The  usual  frontier  lawlessness  also  added  to  their 
hardships.  The  country  abounded  in  vagabonds    and    lawless 


RUSSIA  151 

characters.  The  baggage  of  the  settlers  such  as  reached  them 
at  all  either  was  spoiled  by  the  rains  or  pillaged  by  thieves. 
These  conditions  prevailed  for  several  years.  A  contempor- 
ary writer  calls  them  "blut  arm  an  Leib  und  Seele."  At  their 
first  communion  in  1790,  their  elder,  Penner,  felt  sorely 
grieved  at  the  necessity  of  officiating  without  proper  foot- 
wear, owning  nothing  at  the  time  but  a  pair  of  "Bastel  schue" 
the  usual  footwear  in  the  days  of  poverty.  Several  of  the 
slightly  more  prosperous  members  finally  by  dint  of  con- 
siderable effort  gathered  together  a  pair  of  boots  for  him  for 
the  occasion.  Loud  were  the  sobs,  it  is  said,  that  were  heard 
throughout  the  audience  as  the  participants  at  this  first  com- 
munion were  reminded  in  their  present  miserable  condition 
of  the  happy  homes  they  had  left  behind  in  Prussia.  In  1803, 
their  distress  was  relieved  somewhat  by  material  aid  fur- 
nished them  by  wealthier  colonists  who  remained  with  them 
for  a  short  time  on  their  way  to  a  new  settlement  on  the  Mol- 
otschna. 

Many  of  the  first  settlers  had  expected  to  become  rich 
within  a  few  years.  In  their  disappointment  they  naturally 
turned  against  the  leaders  of  the  whole  movement,  Hoeppner 
and  Bartsch,  as  the  cause  of  their  distress.  Hoeppner  with 
more  means  than  most  of  the  others  had  secured  for  himself 
a  choice  bit  of  land  on  the  wooded  island  in  the  Chortitz,  on 
which  he  built  a  house  more  substantial  than  others  could 
afford.  The  discontented  element  conspired  against  him, 
charging  him  with  using  his  position  in  the  colony  in  his  own 
interest.  They  finally  secured  the  expulsion  of  both  Hoep- 
pner and  Bartsch  from  the  church,  and  brought  about  the 
arrest  of  Hoeppner  who  was  sent  to  prison  for  one  year  at 
Ostrog,  after  which  he  was  released  by  the  order  of  Emperor 
Alexander  I.  After  his  release  he  refused  to  rejoin  the 
colony,  but  became  a  citizen  of  the  nearby  town  of  Alexan- 
drowsk.  He  spent  the  last  years  of  his  life  with  his  son  and 
before  his  death  asked  to  be  buried  on  his  own  estate,  and 
not  in  the  common  cemetery  by  the  side  of    those    who    had 


152  THE  MENNONITES 

caused  him  so  much  trouble  in  his  early  career.  But  time 
heals  all  wounds.  In  1889  on  the  one-hundreth  anniversary  of 
the  founding  of  the  colony,  the  grandchildren  of  the  men  who 
drove  Hoeppner  to  prison  erected  a  monument  to  his  memory 
on  the  spot  of  his  burial. 

In  1796  Catherine  died  and  was  succeeded  by  her  son 
Paul  I.  The  colonists  fearing  that  their  special  privileges 
might  not  be  respected  by  the  new  ruler  sent  their  elder,  David 
Epp,  and  Gerhard  Willems  to  St.  Petersburg  to  secure  a  writ- 
ten confirmation  of  the  promises  made  by  Catherine.  After 
a  two  years'  stay  at  the  capital,  these  men  finally  secured  from, 
Paul  in  1800  a  written  charter  confirming  in  perpetuity  all 
their  privileges.  This  document  preserved  for  many  years  in 
a  fire-proof  building  at  Chortitz  is  now  to  be  found  in  the 
town  hall. 

This  guarantee  again  revived  the  interest  among  the 
West  Prussian  churches  in  emigration.  In  1803,  a  new  colony 
was  founded  farther  down  the  Dnieper  along  the  Molotschna, 
which  empties  into  the  former  a  short  distance  north  of  the 
Sea  of  Azov,  in  the  province  of  Taurien.  During  the  first 
year  three  hundred  and  forty-two  families  came  from  Prussia 
and  grouped  themselves  into  eighteen  villages.  Some  of  the 
Chortitz  settlers  also  removed  to  the  new  colony.  By  1840 
there  were  eleven  hundred  and  fifty  families  embracing  about 
six  thousand  people,  in  the  Molotschna  settlement.  In  that 
year  the  special  inducements  offered  to  immigrants  ceased, 
and  only  small  numbers  came  after  that.  The  Chortitz  settle- 
ment is  now  frequently  referred  to  as  the  Old  Colony. 
The  Molotschna  Colony. 

The  Molotschna  region,  too,  was  a  level,  treeless  steppe 
with  a  fertile  soil,  and  was  well  toward  the  outskirts  of 
civilization.  Just  to  the  south  were  still  to  be  found  bands  of 
half-wild,  nomadic  Tartars  who  hated  the  frontier  settlers  as 
our  Indians  did  the  American  pioneers.  They  frequently  made 
raids  upon  the  Mennonite  settlements  and  drove  off  their 
cattle.    At  one  time  they  murdered  four  men,  after  which  the 


RUSSIA  153 

Government  forbade  them  to  carry  their  weapons  which  con- 
sisted of  long  poles,  spiked  and  weighted  at  the  ends,  a 
weapon  used  by  them  in  the  hunt. 

The  Molotschnaites,  unlike  their  brethren  of  the  Old 
Colony,  were  from  the  wealthier  class  in  Prussia,  and 
prospered  from  the  beginning.  Many  of  them  brought  with 
them  in  their  covered  wagons,  drawn  by  five  or  seven 
horses,  costly  furniture  and  household  goods.  Some  had  dis- 
posed of  valuable  estates  before  they  left  and  after  paying 
the  ten  per  cent,  emigration  fee  required  of  the  emigrants  still 
had  large  sums  of  money  for  which  they  found  a  ready  de- 
mand among  their  more  needy  brethren.  Out  of  three 
hundred  and  twenty-two  families  only  sixty-three  accepted 
the  aid  offered  them  by  the  Russian  authorities.  Taganrog 
was  the  principal  market  for  their  dairy  products  until  Ber- 
diansk  was  founded  on  the  Azov  in  1833. 

In  addition  to  these  two  large  colonies  several  smaller 
independent  Mennonite  groups  had  been  established  in  other 
parts  of  Russia  in  the  meantime.  One  of  the  first  of  these  was 
a  colony  of  Swiss  Palatines,  who  had  been  the  first  to  accept 
the  liberal  terms  of  Catherine  a  few  years  even  before  the 
settlement  at  Chortitz.  These  Palatines  had  come  to 
Galicia  in  the  seventies  of  the  eighteenth  century,  and  about 
1785  had  settled  at  Wymischle  in  Poland.  Later  a  number 
removed  to  Volhynia,  near  Ostrog,  from  which  place  they 
emigrated  to  America  in  1874.  A  small  group  of  Prussians, 
too,  had  remained  in  the  same  region  in  Poland  in  1788  from 
whence  they  emigrated  to  Volhynia  in  1802.  These  also 
joined  the  exodus  to  America  later. 

All  these  colonists  took  their  religion  with  them  wher- 
ever they  went.  The  Chortitz  band  left  Prussia  without  a 
preacher  among  them,  however,  for  the  reason  that  since 
preachers  received  no  support  at  that  time  they  were  usually 
chosen  from  among  the  well-to-do.  But  in  1788  the  Prussian 
Government  refused  passports  to  all  but  the  poor.  During 
their  enforced     stop-over     at     Dubrowna,     however,  in     the 


154  THE  MENNONITES 

winter  of  1788,  they  sent  an  urgent  request  to  the  home 
church  for  ministers  and  elders  in  order  that  they  might  carry 
on  regular  religious  services,  and  especially  the  communion 
service.  The  fact,  too,  that  ten  couples  were  anxiously  waiting 
to  be  married  may  have  added  urgency  to  the  request.  A 
meeting  was  called  of  the  home  churches  in  Prussia,  but 
since  none  of  the  elders  cared  to  undertake  the  long  journey, 
they  advised  the  emigrants  to  select  from  among  their  num- 
ber several  men  qualified  to  carry  on  their  worship  from 
whom  ministers  might  later  be  selected. 

But  the  demand  for  an  elder  being  persistent,  at  a  large 
meeting  of  the  Prussian  churches  the  elders  suggested  that 
the  colonists  send  in  sixteen  names  from  which  four  ministers 
and  two  deacons  would  be  appointed.  Out  of  twenty  names 
thus  sent  in,  that  of  Bernhard  Penner,  was  selected  as  the 
first  minister  at  Chortitz.  According  to  the  established  cus- 
tom, an  elder  could  not  be  thus  selected,  and  consequently 
Peter  Epp,  elder  of  the  Danzig  church,  decided  to  make  the 
journey  to  Russia,  contrary  to  the  wishes  of  his  own  congre- 
gation. Epp  died,  however,  without  fulfilling  his  mission, 
whereupon  the  Prussian  elders  decided  to  waive  for  once  the 
established  custom,  and  declared  Penner  an  elder  by  written 
authority.  Penner,  however,  soon  died,  but  before  his  death 
he  had  ordained  Jacob  Wiebe.  Wiebe,  however,  claiming  him- 
self unqualified  for  the  position  induced  David  Epp  to  assume 
the  responsibility,  meanwhile  ordaining  him.  This  round- 
about method  of  securing  an  elder  caused  a  great  deal  of  dis- 
satisfaction among  the  Russians,  many  of  whom  refused  to 
recognize  Epp.  In  the  interests  of  harmony  two  men,  Jacob 
Wiebe  and  Jacob  van  Bargen,  were  sent  to  Prussia  to  secure 
an  elder  regularly  ordained. 

The  Prussian  churches  sent  Elder  Cornelius  Regier  and 
minister  Cornelius  Warkentin  back  to  Chortitz  to  administer 
to  all  the  religious  needs  of  the  community  and  settle  all  their 
differences.  These  men  arrived  at  Chortitz  in  the  spring  of 
1794,  and  were  cordially  received  by  all  parties.    They  inter- 


RUSSIA  155 

viewed  Hoeppner  and  Bartsch  against  whom  various  charges 
had  been  lodged,  patched  up  a  number  of  quarrels,  visited  all 
villages,  and  baptized  thirteen  applicants  in  the  Frisian  church 
and  thirty-one  in  the  Flemish.  In  the  meantime  Regier  died, 
but  before  his  death  he  had  ordained  Warkentin  as  elder,  who 
remained  for  sometime  longer,  and  who  did  much  to  reconcile 
the  colonists  to  their  new  home.  Before  he  returned  to 
Prussia  he  ordained  two  elders,  David  Epp  and  Johann  Wiebe. 
And  thus  the  organized  religious  life  of  the  community  was 
placed  upon  a  safe  basis.  That  Warkentin's  work  was  ap- 
preciated by  the  Russian  Government  is  shown  by  the  fact 
that  in  1804  he  was  awarded  a  gold  medal  by  the  Emperor 
Alexander  through  the  Russian  consul  at  Danzig  for  his 
services  to  the  young  colony  at  a  critical  period  of  its  history. 

The  colonists  adopted  such  a  type  of  settlement  as  best 
suited  their  needs  on  the  vast  treeless  plains.  Most  of  them 
grouped  themselves  into  small  villages  of  from  thirty  to  fifty 
families.  The  houses  were  at  first  built  on  both  sides  of  a 
long  wide  street,  quite  a  distance  back.  From  the  first,  trees 
of  all  sorts,  especially  fruit  trees,  were  planted  in  great  num- 
bers about  the  houses  and  throughout  the  villages.  The 
houses  at  Chortitz  were  built  at  first  of  mud  walls,  but  later 
of  wood  and  'brick.  Surrounding  the  village  were  the  farms 
of  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  acres  each,  and  frequently 
common  pasture  land  where  community  sheep  were  herded  or 
common  woodland  which  later  was  converted  into  farm  areas 
as  the  village  population  grew.  The  principal  occupation  dur- 
ing the  early  years  was  stock-raising  and  especially  sheep- 
breeding,  dairying  and  farming.  The  silk  industry  for  a  time 
was  quite  important  and  a  large  number  of  mulberry  trees 
were  planted.  Bee  culture  too  was  given  some  attention.  Later 
with  the  advent  of  the  railroad  and  good  markets  on  the 
Black  Sea,  farming  and  especially  wheat  raising  became  the 
leading  industry. 

Industrial  life  was  not  strongly  developed,  although  in 
1820  at  Halbstadt  there  was  a  cloth  and  also  other  manufac- 


156  THE  MENNONITES 

turies,  and  in  both  colonies  there  was  considerable  of  hand 
labor  manufacturing  for  such  as  did  not  carry  on  agriculture 
exclusively.  The  statistics  for  Chortitz  in  1819,  show  that  in 
a  population  of  two  thousand  eight  hundred  and  eighty-eight, 
distributed  through  eighteen  villages,  there  were  two  clock- 
makers,  nine  turners,  two  coopers,  eighty-eight  joiners,  twen- 
ty-six carpenters,  sixteen  smiths,  forty-nine  weavers,  one  dyer, 
twenty-five  tailors,  twenty  shoemakers,  besides  several 
millers,  brewers  and  others.  Of  buildings  there  were  in  the 
Old  Colony  at  the  same  time  four  hundred  and  seventy-six 
dwelling  houses,  two  churches,  twenty-two  windmills,  ont 
water  mill,  three  gristmills,  two  distilleries  and  one  brewery 

Both  colonies  had  a  steady  growth  and  in  course  of  time 
converted  the  vast  treeless  steppes  into  flourishing  fields,  or- 
chards, meadows  and  pastures,  in  which  were  found  large 
herds  of  sheep  and  cattle.  By  1860  the  Molotschna  colony  had 
grown  to  fifty  villages,  and  the  Chortitz  to  eighteen  with  five 
more  in  Bergthal,  a  daughter  colony.  The  total  population 
was  about  thirty  thousand,  owning  an  area  of  about  seven 
hundred  thousand  acres  of  land. 

While  the  colonies  were  not  communistic,  yet  the  village 
undertook  a  number  of  municipal  enterprises.  Each  village 
had  a  common  granary  for  emergency  and  for  the  poor.  Fre- 
quently villages  held  tracts  of  land  for  later  distribution 
among  a  growing  population.  In  1820  the  municipal  sheep 
flock  of  the  Old  Colony  consisted  of  one  thousand  Merinos, 
while  the  income  from  the  common  ferry  was  from  two  to 
three  thousand  rubles  annually.  The  municipal  distillery,  too,, 
that  year  netted  a  substantial  income  for  the  common  treasury. 

Instrumental  in  bringing  about  this  economic  prosperity 
was  the  Agricultural  Association,  founded  in  Ohrloff  in  the 
Molotschna  in  1830  by  Johann  Cornies  and  a  number  of  other 
far-sighted  men.  The  association  was  given  governmental 
sanction,  and  in  many  matters  acted  as  a  semi-official  organ- 
ization. The  leading  spirit  was  the  above  mentioned  Cornies 
who  was  early  made  its  president,  a  position  which     he     held 


RUSSIA  157 

until  his  death  in  1848.  He  conducted  many  experiments  and 
adopted  many  methods  now  well-known  in  scientific  agricul- 
ture. He  was  known  far  and  wide  as  an  agricultural  expert, 
being  frequently  visited  by  government  officials,  including 
both  Alexander  I.  and  Alexander  II.  Similar  societies  were 
formed  in  other  colonies,  and  their  activities  were  not  confined 
to  the  Mennonite  settlements  but  they  influenced  neighboring 
Jewish,  Russian  and  Tartar  colonies  to  better  farming. 
Among  the  results  secured  through  the  efforts  of  the  organ- 
ization were  the  planting  of  large  numbers  of  trees  especially 
mulberry  trees  for  the  silk  industry,  the  four-year  rotation  of 
crops,  the  breeding  of  improved  strains  of  stock,  and  the 
building  of  model  school  houses  and  practical  farm  buildings. 
The  poorer  colonists  were  induced  to  enter  the  service  of  the 
more  prosperous.  Neglected  children  were  provided  for,  and 
the  organization  even  was  influential  in  securing  regulations 
compelling  the  lazy  to  do  work.  The  administration  of  the 
schools  was  finally  turned  over  to  the  association  also.  In 
some  of  the  colonies  this  association  still  exists,  while  in 
others  it  has  run  its  course. 

In  the  course  of  a  half  century  the  land  question  became 
one  of  the  acute  problems  in  both  colonies.  By  1860  in  the 
Molotschna  out  of  forty-four  hundred  families  only  fourteen 
hundred  owned  entire  estates  or  half  estates,  leaving  over 
two-thirds  of  the  families  without  any  land  whatsoever.  The 
surplus  land  which  in  the  beginning  was  not  put  into  cultiva- 
tion and  which  was  the  property  of  the  entire  colony  was 
leased  to  the  rich  land-owners  for  sheep  raising  at  a  ridiculous- 
ly low  rent  while  such  of  the  landless  as  desired  to  farm  were 
often  forced  to  go  many  miles  out  from  the  settlement  and 
lease  land  at  a  high  rate.  Since  only  the  landowners  had  a 
voice  in  the  village  assembly  in  the  management  of  affairs  the 
poor  were  almost  helpless  in  their  attempts  to  secure  redress. 
And  since  the  large  estates  were  to  serve  as  model  estates  the 
original  one  hundred  and  seventy-five-acre  farms  had  not  been 
subdivided. 


158  THE  MENNONITES 

This  condition  naturally  bred  a  great  deal  of  discontent 
and  ran  a  dividing  line  through  the  population,  often  cutting 
through  the  ties  of  domestic  and  social  kinship.  Cornies 
sought  to  remedy  the  situation  by  introducing  manufacturing 
industries  in  Halbstadt,  but  to  no  avail.  The  only  relief 
available  was  to  enter  some  industry  other  than  agriculture, 
buy  or  rent  land  outside  of  the  settlement,  or  emigrate  else- 
where. The  landless  finally  organized  and  appealed  to  the 
Russian  Government  for  help.  Their  program  demanded  a 
division  of  the  common  land,  a  dividing  of  the  large  est?tcs 
into  smaller  ones,  and  the  purchase  of  the  entire  colony  of 
new  lands  for  the  benefit  of  the  landless. 

The  Government  finally  recommended  that  the  original 
estates  of  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  acres  might  be  sub- 
divided; that  of  the  surplus  land,  estates  of  thirty  acres  each 
might  be  created ;  and  that  the  owners  of  the  small  estates 
might  have  the  same  right  to  vote  as  those  of  large  estates  in 
village  assembly.  These  recommendations  brought  a  meas- 
ure of  relief,  and  together  with  the  more  recent  development  of 
industry,  the  establishing  of  daughter  colonies  and  the  exodus 
to  America  saved  the  situation  from  serious  consequences,  but 
the  land  question  was  still  an  important  one  up  to  the  recent 
war. 

The  local  government  of  the  Mennonite  colonies  was 
unique  and  adapted  to  their  special  needs.  As  we  saw,  the 
whole  German  population  of  south  Russia  was  given  a  special 
status  within  the  empire.  Their  affairs  were  largely  in  the 
hands  of  a  committee  (  Fuersorge  Komitee),  representing  the 
ministry  and  stationed  at  Odessa.  The  director,  still  more 
closely  in  touch  with  the  local  inhabitants,  represented  a  divi- 
sion of  the  large  unit  of  administration  called  Government.  In 
all  strictly  local  affairs  the  Mennonite  colonies  were  given 
great  freedom  to  govern  themselves  and  elect  their  own  offi- 
cials. They  constituted  a  sort  of  democracy  within  an  autoc- 
racy, and  enjoyed  greater  freedom  than  the  native  Russian 
communities.    At    the  head    of    each  of    the    two    colonies, 


RUSSIA  159 

Chortitz  and  Molotschna,  presided  a  superintendent  (Ober- 
schulzen)  elected  by  representatives  from  the  different 
villages  and  a  clerk  (Schreiber)  who  kept  the  records  and 
must  be  able  to  use  both  the  German  and  Russian  languages. 
Over  each  villege  there  was  a  sort  of  an  over-seer  or  magis- 
trate (Schulz)  who  carried  out  orders  from  above,  presided  at 
the  village  assemblies,  and  punished  petty  misdemeanors. 

Here  we  have  one  of  the  very  few  instances  in  Menno- 
nite  history  of  a  self-governing  Mennonite  community.  It  is 
needless  to  say  that  it  was  not  always  easy  to  carry  out  the 
Mennonite  principles  of  non-resistance  and  opposition  to 
force  and  at  the  same  time  maintain  the  discipline  necessary 
for  a  stable  order.  To  the  Mennonite  magistrate  fell  the  lot 
of  administering  local  discipline.  Whipping  was  a  frequent 
method  of  punishment.  To  lead  a  fellow-member  to  the 
whipping  post  seemed  at  times  a  little  inconsistent  with  the 
injunction  "Resist  not  evil."  To  the  village  meeting  were  left 
also  such  local  questions  as  providing  for  schools  and 
teachers,  appointing  herders,  maintaining  roads,  caring  for 
the  poor  and  distributing  the  surplus  land. 

Being  a  religious  group,  the  government  approached  that 
of  a  theocracy.  The  elders  though  not  at  the  head  of  temporal 
affairs,  yet  as  heads  of  the  church  exercised  great  influence 
over  matters  of  government,  especially  over  schools  which 
were  largely  controlled  by  the  church.  At  first  the  directors 
requested  the  elders  to  assist  them  in  the  administration  of 
many  local  affairs.  This  necessitated  frequent  meetings  of  the 
elders.  Out  of  this  grew  an  institution  known  as  the  Church 
Council  (Kirchen  Konvent)  in  1850,  the  highest  church  author- 
ity in  the  colony,  which  also  exercised  some  influence  in  mat- 
ters not  strictly  ecclesiastical.  Laymen  had  no  voice  in  these 
meetings.  The  elders  thus  occupied  a  position  of  unusual 
power  in  the  colony.  The  formation  in  1883  of  the  General 
Conference  of  the  Mennonites  of  South  Russia  ended  the  old 
Church  Council. 

School  matters  were  left  entirely  to  the  local  communities. 


160  THE  MENNONITES 

Mennonites  could  have  any  kind  of  schools  they  desired,  or 
none  at  all,  if  they  so  wished.  This  was  true  until  1881,  when 
school  administration  was  taken  over  by  the  Russian  Govern- 
ment. From  the  very  first,  however,  elementary  subscription 
schools  were  established  in  most  villages  and  appropriate 
though  primitive  school  buildings  were  erected  in  course  of 
time.  The  interest  in  education  among  the  masses  was  not 
very  strong.  It  was  especially  difficult  to  secure  efficient 
teachers,  meager  as  the  requirements  were.  The  first  teachers 
were  usually  old  men,  workmen  frequently,  who  converted 
their  workshops  into  a  combination  school  and  workroom  with 
school  desk  and  work  bench  side  by  side  and  the  rod  and  plane 
both  within  easy  reach.  The  teacher's  only  task  was  to  keep 
order  and  to  hear  the  lessons  assigned.  This  gave  him  plenty 
of  opportunity  to  ply  his  real  vocation,  that  of  a  carpenter,  or 
shoemaker,  perhaps.  Progress  of  course  was  slow.  Several 
years  were  usually  spent  in  mastering  the  bare  rudiments  of 
reading  and  writing.  The  distinctive  school  furniture  within 
the  room  consisted  of  a  long  table  through  the  center,  with  the 
boys  on  one  side,  the  girls  on  the  other,  and  the  master  at  the 
head.  The  two  primary  aims  of  the  school  system  were  to 
maintain  the  German  language  and  to  teach  religion.  The  cur- 
riculum consisted  of  the  traditional  three  R's  with  singing 
added.  In  spite  of  valuable  service  rendered  the  school  cause 
by  the  Agricultural  Association  and  especially  its  president, 
Johann  Cornies,  in  the  early  days,  the  second  generation  of  the 
Prussian  emigrants  degenerated  both  intellectually  and  spiri- 
tually in  their  new  home,  a  stage  through  which  all  pioneers 
must  necessarily  pass. 

There  were  a  few  farsighted  men,  however,  and  especially 
a  few  enthusiastic  teachers  who  kept  the  cause  of  education 
alive.  In  the  early  twenties  at  Ohrloff  an  association  was 
formed  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  a  school  of  higher 
learning.  To  the  head  of  this  school  they  called  as  principal 
teacher,  a  Tobias  Voth,  who  had  considerable  experience  as 
a  teacher  in  West  Prussia.     For  six  years  Voth  succeeded  in 


RUSSIA  161 

influencing  a  large  number  of  students  to  enroll  for  work. 
Evening  classes  and  reading  circles  were  introduced.  Mission 
study  was  organized.  For  lack  of  proper  support,  Voth  was 
soon  forced  to  leave  Ohrloff,  however.  Later  he  established 
private  schools  at  Schonsee  and  Steinbach.  He  was  succeeded 
as  an  educational  leader  by  Heinrich  Hesse,  a  member  of  the 
progressive  Gnadenfeld  church,  who  encouraged  especially 
the  study  of  Russian  among  the  German  colonists.  Hesse  re- 
mained here  until  he  was  called  to  Chortitz  in  1840  where  he 
founded  a  "Central  Schule,"  a  sort  of  high  school  and  Normal 
school  for  the  training  of  teachers.  Similar  central  schools 
were  also  founded  in  the  Molotschna  and  other  colonies.  Ger- 
man and  Russian  were  both  taught.  The  course  consisted  of 
three  years'  work.  Free  tuition  was  offered  poor  students  on 
condition,  however,  that  they  promise  to  serve  the  community 
after  school  either  as  teachers  or  village  clerks,  the  two  posi- 
tions at  that  time  requiring  some  little  training.  Russians  as 
well  as  Germans  frequently  attended  these  schools. 

Another  well-known  teacher  of  the  time  was  Heinrich 
Franz,  successor  to  Hesse  in  Chortitz  and  later  head  of  the 
"Bruderschule"  in  Gnadenfeld  in  1857.  This  school  was  es- 
tablished largely  for  the  purpose  of  training  missionaries,  and 
marks  a  step  in  advance  in  the  progress  of  Mennonite  schools 
in  Russia.  In  1859  both  the  Gnadenfeld  "Bruderschule"  and 
the  Ohrloff  "Vereinschule"  were  recognized  as  training 
schools  for  Mennonite  teachers. 

It  has  already  been  suggested  that  the  spiritual  and  moral 
standards  were  not  high  during  the  early  years,  and  were  not 
improved  during  the  first  two  generations.  Living  conditions 
were  such  at  first  as  are  common  in  frontier  settlements. 
Educational  opportunities  were  meager.  Church  life  was 
formal.  Children  almost  automatically  joined  the  church  at  a 
certain  age,  irrespective  of  their  religious  experience.  In 
Chortitz,  a  drinking  house  was  early  established.  Drunken 
brawls  were  not  unusual,  in  one  of  which  a  man  was  killed. 
The  colonies  were  closed  communities  and     were  made     im- 

6 


162  THE  MENNONITES 

pervious  by  language  and  religion  as  well  as  by  geography  to 
any  outside  influence  either  good  or  bad.  Among  themselves, 
they  had  neither  printing  press  nor  papers,  and  but  few  books. 

These  conditions  were  not  improved  by  numerous 
quarrels  and  dissensions.  Among  the  unfortunate  quarrels 
was  the  Ohrloff-Barley  controversy  in  1858  as  it  was  called, 
which  began  as  a  local  quarrel  between  two  members  of  the 
Ohrloff  settlement  over  a  rented  barley  field.  The  quarrel 
grew  until  it  divided  not  only  the  Ohrloff  congregation,  but 
extended  wide  over  the  entire  Molotschna  settlement.  At  the 
same  time,  too,  occurred  a  controversy  in  the  Halbstadt  con- 
gregation over  the  building  of  a  new  church.  On  the  matter 
of  church  doctrines  and  discipline,  too,  there  were  numerous 
controversies.  At  the  time  of  their  immigration  from  Prussia 
they  were  divided  into  three  groups,  all  inherited  from  their 
original  homes  in  Holland — Flemish,  Frisian,  and  old  Flemish 
or  Uko-Walists.  There  was  little  religious  intercourse  among 
these  groups,  and  intermarriage  was  forbidden.  That  the 
Empress  Catherine  regarded  these  religious  divisions  detri- 
mental to  the  material  prosperity  of  the  early  colonies  is 
shown  by  the  fact  that  she  sent  van  Trappe  to  Holland  to 
study  the  reasons  for  these  divisions  and  also  to  enlist  the 
help  of  the  Dutch  Mennonites  in  bringing  about  agreement 
especially  permitting  intermarriage,  but  to  no  avail. 
Kleine  Gemeinde 

To  these  imported  divisions  new  ones  were  soon  added 
within  the  colony.  The  first  controversy  arose  over  the  ques- 
tion of  church  discipline,  and  especially  the  question  as  to 
whether  Mennonites  might  become  magistrates  and  use  force 
against  fellow  Mennonites.  The  issue  was  raised  between 
1812  and  1820  by  a  recent  Prussian  minister  by  the  name  of 
Klaas  Reimer,  an  ambitious,  hypercritical,  self-willed,  though 
sincere  man,  who  answered  the  latter  question  in  the  negative, 
and  who  favored  a  more  rigid  discipline  in  religious  matters 
than  was  being  practised  at  the  time  in  the  Molotschna  colony. 
Reimer  stirred  up  so  much  dissension  through  his    preaching 


RUSSIA  163 

that  Jacob  Enns,  the  Molotschna  elder,  asked  the  Mennonite 
governmental  authorities  to  silence  him,  a  power,  no  doubt, 
within  their  jurisdiction.  The  former  appealed  his  case  to 
Johann  Wiebe,  the  Chortitz  elder,  who  in  turn  threatened  him 
with  Siberia,  if  he  insisted  in  creating  a  distinct  religious  or- 
ganization which  he  was  now  attempting  to  do.  This  only 
made  matters  worse  and  soon  after  Reimer,  together  with  eigh- 
teen others,  seceded  from  the  church  and  organized  one  of 
their  own  in  spite  of  the  above  threats.  Through  the  influence 
of  Johann  Cornies  of  the  Agricultural  Association  they  were 
given  recognition  by  the  Russian  Government  which  guaran- 
teed them  all  the  rights  originally  granted  the  colonies  as  Men- 
nonites.  Other  similar  small  groups  seceded  throughout  the 
various  settlements  and  thus  was  founded  what  became 
■known  as  the  "Kleine  Gemeinde." 

They  were  strict  disciplinarians,  practised  the  most  rigid 
simplicity  in  their  clothing,  houses  and  furniture ;  would  not 
hold  office  and  believed  it  wrong  to  turn  over  a  church  brother 
to  the  temporal  authorities  to  be  punished;  objected  to  the  ex- 
cessive hilarity  at  weddings  and  the  social  features  of  burial 
occasions;  and  condemned  smoking.  They  declared  the  old 
church  too  formal  and  demanded  a  more  spontaneous  religious 
life  based  upon  definite  experience.  They  were  decidedly  se- 
clusive  and  condemned  all  educational  efforts.  In  1826  feet- 
washing  was  introduced  into  their  communion  service. 

According  to  Reimer  himself  some  fell  into  excessive  fanat- 
icism in  the  fervor  of  their  early  religious  experiences.  They 
laid  much  stress  upon  visions  and  dreams.  Certain  of  them 
forced  themselves  to  undergo  excessive  hardships,  went 
through  long  fasts,  spent  hours  in  prayer  standing  or  lying  in 
deep  snow,  from  the  effects  of  which  at  least  one  young  man 
died.  Others  when  praying  before  meals  would  not  eat  unless 
their  emotionalism  could  find  relief  in  bitter  weeping.  They 
frequently  ate  poor  food  and  went  hungry,  thinking  thereby 
they  would  please  God.  As  is  frequently  the  case,  so  here,  too, 
their  excessive  emotionalism,  finally  led  to  serious  immorality. 


164  THE  MENNONITES 

Reimer  himself,  however,  seems  to  have  kept  his  head.  But 
his  church  never  had  much  influence  and  it  never  grew  large. 
By  1860  it  had  nearly  run  its  course.  In  the  seventies  a  small 
group  planted  the  division  in  Kansas. 

In  the  meantime  other  conflicting  currents  within  the 
church  developed  into  separate  divisions  when  Elder  Bernhard 
Fast  of  Halbstadt,  a  liberal-minded  man,  introduced  a  number 
of  innovations  (1822-1824)  into  his  services.  Three-fourths  of 
the  conservative  Flemish  membership  over  which  he  presided 
withdrew  from  him  and  reorganized  their  congregation. 
Among  the  innovations  to  which  they  objected  were  the  or- 
dination of  Elder  Fast  by  the  Frisian  elder  at  Rudnerweide, 
and  not  by  the  Flemish  official  at  Chortitz  as  had  been  the 
custom  heretofore ;  the  admission  of  an  Evangelical  missionary 
to  the  communion  table;  the  founding  of  the  Ohrloff  Verein 
school;  and  the  organizing  of  a  Bible  society,  a  branch  of  the 
St.  Petersburg  society.  Among  the  objections  raised  against 
this  Bible  society  was  the  fact  that  the  titles  president,  secre- 
tary, etc.,  savored  of  militarism.  Scarcely  one  hundred  and 
fifty  families  remained  with  Fast.  The  remainder  secured  a 
new  elder,  ordained  at  Chortitz  and  called  themselves  the 
"Pure  Flemish"  but  later  they  became  known  as  the  Lich- 
tenau-Petershagen  group  of  churches,  or  sometimes  too  as  the 
"Grosze  Gemeinde."  They  were  exceedingly  conservative  and 
opposed  every  forward  step  in  their  church  life.  The  Ohrloff 
congregation  on  the  other  hand  which  followed  the  lead  of 
Elder  Fast  became  the  most  progressive  in  the  colony. 
Bruedergemeinde 

The  most  far-reaching  of  the  church  controversies,  how- 
ever, was  the  one  which  resulted  in  the  formation  of  the 
Brudergemeinde.  The  church  as  a  whole  as  has  already  been 
indicated  at  this  time  was  rather  cold  and  formal  so  far  as 
conscious  religious  experience  and  special  religious  activity 
was  concerned.  But  in  one  congregation,  at  Gnadenfeld,  there 
seemed  to  be  the  beginning  of  a  more  vital  spiritual  awaken- 
ing.   The  Gnadenfeld  congregation  of  forty  families     had  re- 


RUSSIA  165 

cently  (1835)  located  by  special  permission  of  Emperor 
Nicholas  I  in  the  Molotschna  from  Brandenburg,  Prussia,  un- 
der the  leadership  of  the  Elder  William  Lange.  Here  were  to 
be  found  a  missionary  society,  prayer  meetings,  and  other 
activities  unusual  in  the  churches  of  that  period. 

In  the  meantime  the  Mennonite  churches  came  into  con- 
tact with  two  outside  currents  of  religious  life  which  exerted 
some  influence  among  them.  The  first  was  a  new  movement 
sponsored  by  a  group  of  rationalistic  Zionists  in  Wurtemburg, 
known  as  Jerusalem  Friends  or  Templers.  The  literature 
found  its  way  to  many  of  the  Mennonite  villages  and  es- 
pecially to  Gnadenfeld.  One  of  the  teachers  of  the  Gnadenfeld 
school,  Johann  Lange,  had  received  his  training  at  a  Jerusalem 
Friend  Institution.  Gnadenfeld  thus  became  a  center  of  the 
new  teaching.  The  Mennonites  were  bitterly  condemned  by 
the  enthusiasts,  and  an  attempt  was  made  to  establish  a 
Temple,  as  their  church  congregations  were  called.  A  bitter 
controversy  followed  resulting  in  the  imprisonment  of  Lange 
for  six  months  and  later  in  the  emigration  of  the  Templers  to 
the  Caucasus  where  there  is  still  a  congregation  or  two. 

The  other  was  a  more  wholesome  though  not  a  less 
troublesome  movement,  and  was  largely  the  work  of  an  en- 
thusiastic Evangelical  preacher,  known  as  Pastor  Wuest, 
from  an  Evangelical  church  near  Berdiansk.  Pastor  Wuest,  a 
sort  of  a  John  Wesley  of  South  Russia,  traveled  extensively, 
and  being  an  eloquent  and  fiery  speaker  drew  large  crowds 
wherever  he  went  among  all  denominations.  He  laid  special 
emphasis  upon  the  doctrine  of  the  free  grace  of  God,  and  the 
need  of  a  definite  religious  experience  in  the  Christian  life. 
He  often  visited  the  mission  fests  at  Gnadenfeld  and  other 
congregations  where  he  secured  a  considerable  of  a  following. 
Finally  a  number  of  his  disciples  from  several  of  the  Menno- 
nite churches  becoming  dissatisfied  with  what  they  regarded 
as  the  formality  of  the  church  held  meetings  among  them- 
selves, and  considering  themselves  too  pure  to  participate  in 
the  communion  services  with  the  others,    demanded  that    the 


166  THE  MENNONITES 

elder  administer  the  sacrament  to  them  as  a  separate  group, 
which,  of  course,  the  elder  refused  to  do ;  whereupon  they 
celebrated  the  rite  among  themselves  in  a  secret  meeting. 
When  these  secret  activities  became  known  they  naturally 
aroused  a  great  deal  of  opposition  and  brought  matters  to  a 
head.  The  new  party  declaring  the  old  church  to  be  hopeless- 
ly corrupt  decided  to  withdraw  entirely  and  found  a  new 
organization.  On  January  6,  1860,  a  group  of  eighteen  men, 
but  not  a  preacher  among  them,  drew  up  a  document  in  which 
they  stated  their  reasons  for  withdrawal  and  which  they  pre- 
sented to  the  Mennonite  elders.  Among  these  reasons  were : 

"The  religious  decay  of  the  entire  Mennonite  brother- 
hood, and  on  account  of  the  Lord's  will  and  our  conscience 
we  can  no  longer  fellowship  with  you  as  a  church.  For  we 
fear  that  God's  judgment  is  inevitable,  since  the  prevailing 
Godlessness  crieth  unto  Heaven.  Besides  we  are  fearful  lest 
the  Government  repeal  the  special  privileges  granted  to  the 
Mennonites  on  account  of  their  open  transgressions.  It  is  sad 
to  behold  how  on  market  days  the  Mennonites  carry  on  such  a 
frivolous  life,  in  which  even  the  ministers  take  part." 

The  elders,  of  course,  opposed  the  secession  movement. 
For  several  years  there  was  a  bitter  controversy  between 
them  and  the  new  party  over  a  separate  organization. 

The  Molotschna  colony  was  not  only  a  group  of  church 
congregations  but  also  an  economic  and  civil  unit  with 
special  rights  and  privileges  granted  by  the  Emperor.  It  was 
a  self-governing  body  and  as  such  could  prevent  seceding 
groups  from  enjoying  the  economic  and  civil  privileges  grant- 
ed the  original  colony.  By  enforcing  the  church  ban  also, 
which  in  most  of  the  churches  excluded  the  excommunicated 
from  all  business  and  social  activities  of  the  congregation  they 
could  be  isolated  almost  entirely  from  the  community  life.  By 
virtue  of  a  regulation  of  1857  which  gave  the  colony  the  right 
to  prevent  the  organization  of  secret  societies  within  the  body, 
the  elders  attempted    through  the  local    Mennonite    civil    au- 


RUSSIA  167 

thorities  (Gebiets  Amt)  to  prevent  the  seceders  from 
organizing.  The  latter  were  threatened  with  Siberia  and 
several  of  the  leaders  were  imprisoned  for  a  short  time. 
By  an  appeal  to  the  Imperial  Court  at  St.  Petersburg,  however, 
through  Johann  Claasen,  one  of  their  most  influential  leaders, 
they  won  their  case  and  became  a  separate  unit.  Being  in- 
formed by  the  authorities,  however,  that  they  could  not  be- 
come a  separate  society,  but  might  remain  as  a  distinct 
division  of  the  original  Mennonite  body,  they  now  insisted  in 
order  to  retain  their  special  privileges  in  the  Molotschna 
colony  that  they,  and  not  the  main  body,  were  the  true 
followers  of  Menno  Simons,  and  to  this  end  they  maintained 
their  right  to  membership  in  the  fold  by  christening  them- 
selves "Mennoniten  Bruedergemeinde"  (Mennonite  Brethren). 

In  the  main  the  Mennonite  Brethren  did  not  depart  far 
from  Mennonite  fundamentals.  The  characteristic  doctrines 
were  all  retained.  In  addition  they  emphasized  the  emotional 
side  of  religion  and  taught  the  need  of  a  definite  religious  ex- 
perience. They  soon  introduced  baptism  by  immersion, 
which  accounts  for  their  intimacy  with  the  Baptists,  both  in 
Europe  and  America,  and  feetwashing,  and  were  strict  in 
discipline. 

In  common  with  other  movements  advocating  a  freer 
and  more  spontaneous  expression  of  their  newly  found 
liberty,  they  made  much  of  enjoying  their  experiences,  and 
were  quite  demonstrative,  giving  vent  to  their  feelings  in 
singing,  shouting,  and  sometimes  in  dancing.  One  case  is 
recorded  where  the  brethren  washed  the  feet  of  the  sisters,  the 
latter  also  reciprocating.  Some  burned  all  their  books  except 
those  advocating  immersion.  Others,  like  the  Quakers  in  New 
England,  even  attended  the  meetings  of  the  old  church  for 
the  purpose  of  disturbing  them.  Such  cases,  of  course,  were 
rare  and  the  spirit  of  fanaticism  did  not  last  long.  Time  soon 
eliminated  these  excesses  and  on  the  whole  the  movement 
had  a  beneficial  effect  on  the  old  church  in  emphasizing  the 
need  of  a  deeper  spiritual  life  and  a  more  vital  religion.  Under 


168  THE  MENNONITES 

the  leadership  of  such  men  in  the  old  church  as  Lenzman 
from  Gnadenfeld,  Suderman  from  Berdiansk,  and  Harder  of 
Ohrloff  and  others,  progressive  church  activities  were  in- 
creasingly fostered  in  the  main  body  during  the  last  half  of 
the  nineteenth  century. 

The  Mennonite  Brethren  maintained  a  steady  and  sub- 
stantial growth  from  1860  to  the  present.  By  1885  seven 
hundred  and  four  had  been  received  into  the  church  at 
Molotschna.  The  movement  also  spread  into  Chortitz  and  to 
the  Crimea,  where  a  church  was  organized  under  the  leader- 
ship of  Jacob  Wiebe,  an  elder  of  a  "Kleine  Gemeinde."  In 
1874  and  later  many  of  the  Mennonite  Brethren  followed 
the  great  exodus  to  America.  The  church  continued  to  grow 
and  later  additions  were  secured  wherever  the  Mennonite 
church  was  found  in  Kuban,  Cherson,  Warsaw,  Samara, 
Turkestan  and  Siberia.  In  1910  the  membership  was  seven 
thousand  with  a  total  population  of  about  seventeen 
thousand,  nearly  one-fifth  of  the  whole  Russian  Mennonite 
population. 

As  the  two  original  colonies  grew,  the  original  land  pur- 
chases became  too  small  to  accommodate  the  growing  popula- 
tion. As  early  as  1836  Chortitz  found  it  necessary  to  add  to 
the  original  land  area.  With  the  help  of  the  Russian  Govern- 
ment they  secured  a  tract  of  land  near  the  original,  large 
enough  to  care  for  one  hundred  and  fifty  families.  Five 
villages  were  located  here  in  a  new  colony  which  they  called 
Bergthal.  This  colony  later  migrated  bodily  to  America  in 
the  seventies  after  selling  their  land  to  a  group  of  German 
Catholics.  In  1846  one  of  the  elders  in  the  Molotschna  was 
forced  to  leave  his  colony  for  having  incurred  the  ill  will  of 
the  Mennonite  "Gebiets  Amt."  He  went  to  Poland  whither 
he  was  followed  by  sixty  families  from  his  own  church. 

In  the  early  sixties  the  Russian  Government  offered 
land  on  easy  terms  to  industrious  farmers  in  the  Crimea 
where  large  numbers  of  Tartars  had  been  forced  to  leave  be- 
cause they  had  been  disloyal  during  the  recent  Crimean  war. 


RUSSIA  169 

A  number  of  Mennonite  villages  were  ultimately  established 
on  these  vacated  lands.  In  the  early  seventies  also  a  number 
of  the  Molotschna  colonists  located  in  nearby  Cherson.  In 
1895  the  Molotschna  colony  bought  an  extensive  tract  along 
the  lower  Volga,  which  they  offered  on  easy  terms  to  their 
landless  inhabitants.  Recent  statistics  show  that  in  addition 
to  the  two  original  colonies  in  the  provinces  of  Ekaterinoslav 
and  Taurien,  Mennonite  groups  are  now  found  throughout 
South  Russia  in  the  provinces  of  Cherson,  Saratov,  Samara, 
Ufa,  Orenburg,  Kuban,  Crimea,  as  well  as  in  Volhynia  and 
Poland  and  also  in  Turkestan  and  Siberia. 

Some  of  these  daughter  colonies,  it  will  be  observed, 
were  municipal  enterprises  for  the  benefit  of  the  new  swarms 
that  found  no  room  in  the  old  hive.  Most  of  them,  too, 
followed  the  custom  of  grouping  themselves  into  villages, 
although  in  a  few  cases  farm-houses  were  built  in  the  open 
country. 

In  addition  to  these  various  daughter  colonies,  several 
settlements  were  made  during  the  middle  of  the  century 
direct  from  Prussia,  independent  of  the  old  Chortitz  and 
Molotschna  colonies.  The  emigration  to  Volhynia  and 
Poland  in  the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth  century  and  of  the 
Huterites  to  Wischenka,  and  the  Gnadenfeld  group  to  the 
Molotschna  in  1835  have  already  been  mentioned. 

Especially  interesting  is  the  settlement  made  at  Saratov 
by  a  group  of  Prussians  in  1853  to  escape  military 
service.  In  1850  the  Russian  Government  had  offered  the 
West  Prussian  Mennonites  the  choice  of  several  tracts  of  land 
on  the  lower  Volga,  near  the  southeastern  frontier.  A  small 
band  of  Prussians  accepted  the  offer  and  located  on  what  was 
k^own  as  the  Salt  Tract,  near  Saratov,  in  the  province  of  the 
same  name.  This  colony  they  named  Koeppenthal.  In  1861 
a  second  one  was  established  near  Samara.  Settlers  from  the 
Molotschna  also  located  here.  By  1888  the  Saratov  members 
numbered  six  hundred  and  nineteen  and  those  at  Samara 
four  hundred  and  eighteen. 


170  THE  MENNONITES 

But  the  great  emigration  from  all  the  colonists  was  the 
exodus  to  America  between  1874  and  1880  which  was  caused 
not  so  much  by  the  population  pressure,  as  by  the  change  of 
policy  on  the  part  of  the  Russian  Government  toward  its 
German  colonists  and  especially  with  reference  to  the  in- 
troduction of  universal  military  service  without  exemptions. 

As  already  stated  the  Mennonites  were  not  the  only 
German  settlers  in  Russia.  Under  the  liberal  policy  of 
Catherine  and  her  successors,  Germans  of  every  faith  had 
located  in  South  Russia  in  large  numbers.  By  1870  the  num- 
ber perhaps  was  not  far  from  two  million.  By  special  agree- 
ment with  the  Prussian  Government  at  the  time  of  the 
immigration  they  had  been  granted  certain  special  rights, 
such  as  the  use  of  their  own  language,  their  own  form  of  local 
government,  and  military  exemption.  They  constituted  in 
reality  a  little  "Germany"  within  Russia.  Because  of  their 
industry  and  superior  skill  and  special  privileges  they  had  in- 
curred the  jealousy  of  the  native  Russians,  whom  they  in  turn 
held  in  contempt.  Such  an  anomalous  situation,  of  course, 
could  only  be  temporary.  And  it  was  not  strange  that  in  the 
late  sixties  with  the  growth  of  Prussia  as  a  military  power, 
Russia  decided  to  end  these  special  privileges  of  her  German 
subjects.  By  1870  a  program  of  Russianification  had  been 
adopted.  The  special  German  organs  of  local  government 
were  to  be  abolished ;  Russian  was  to  become  the  official  lan- 
guage ;  schools,  too,  a  few  years  later  were  placed  under  the 
control  of  Russian  officials ;  from  universal  military  service 
Germans  were  now  no  longer  to  be  exempt.  In  other  words 
these  Germans  who  had  retained  their  language,  customs, 
culture,  and  to  a  certain  extent  their  loyalty  to  their  original 
fatherland,  were  now  to  be  thoroughly  Russianized.  Among 
these  Russian  Germans,  of  course,  only  a  small  number  were 
Mennonites,  perhaps  somewhere  near  thirty-five  or  forty 
thousand. 

To  the  Mennonites  especially  alarming  was  the  rumor 
that  they  too,  would  be  liable  to  military  service,  thus  losing 


RUSSIA  171 

the  privileges    promised  them  in    their      charter    by  Paul  I, 
in  1800. 

It  may  be  said  here  in  passing,  that  the  Mennonites  had 
always  shown  themselves  loyal  to  their  Government  in  war 
and  peace,  and  cheerfully  contributed  their  share  to  the 
national  burdens.  In  the  Crimean  War  the  Molotschna 
settlements  were  not  far  from  the  scene  of  action.  Mennonite 
teamsters  did  useful  service  in  transporting  troops  to  the 
Crimea.  In  hospital  service,  especially,  they  did  a  noble  work 
in  caring  for  the  wounded  in  the  very  war  in  which  Florence 
Nightingale  really  inaugurated  the  present  Red  Cross  work  on 
the  battlefield.  The  Mennonites  opened  their  homes  to  the 
sick  and  wounded  and  cared  for  them  at  their  own  expense.  It 
is  said  that  they  provided  for  five  thousand  sick  and  wounded. 
In  the  recent  Japanese  war  too,  they  contributed  toward  the 
hospital  and  relief  work  and  several  of  their  young  men  died 
in  the  field  service. 

Realizing  the  seriousness  of  the  situation  in  1870,  the 
different  colonies  sent  three  separate  committees  to  St. 
Petersburg  in  behalf  of  their  special  privileges.  They  were 
granted  interviews  with  the  ministry  and  with  the  Crown 
Prince  but  not  with  the  Emperor.  Spokesman  for  one  of  the 
committees  was  Elder  Leonhard  Suderman  from  Berdiansk. 
While  defending  the  Mennonite  peace  principles  before  the 
ministry,  the  minister  of  war  interrupting  him,  inquired  of  him 
what  he  would  do  in  case  he  were  attacked  by  an  enemy.  "I 
would  reconcile  myself  with  the  enemy,"  replied  Suderman, 
"would  approach  him,  embrace  him  but  not  kill  him,"  an 
answer  which,  it  is  said,  greatly  amused  the  war  minister. 

These  interviews  evidently  were  not  satisfactory  and  it 
seemed  that  emigration  would  be  the  only  recourse.  A  final 
written  appeal  in  behalf  of  their  former  privileges  was  sent 
to  the  emperor  with  little  hope  of  success,  however,  for  at  the 
same  time  preparations  were  being  made  to  seek  a  new  home. 
But  where  were  they  to  go?  Africa  and    Siberia    were    both 


172  THE  MENNONITES 

seriously  considered,  but  America  was  finally  decided  upon  as 
furnishing  the  best  asylum.  B'ut  of  this  country  many 
strange  notions  were  held.  In  the  words  of  the  Suderman 
above  mentioned,  to  many,  America  was  a  country  "interesting 
for  the  adventurer  and  an  asylum  for  convicts.  How  could  one 
think  of  finding  a  home  in  peace  and  under  his  vine  and  fig 
tree  among  such  and  other-like  people  in  addition  to  the  wild 
natives  (Indians)." 

The  appeal  to  the  Emperor,  however,  bore  some  fruit. 
Through  the  efforts  of  Adjutant  General  von  Todtleben,  a 
famous  general  of  the  Crimean  War,  and  the  reluctance  of  the 
Emperor  to  lose  thousands  of  his  most  industrious  subjects,  a 
modification  of  the  original  order  in  behalf  of  the  Mennonites 
was  secured.  Instead  of  military  service  they  were  to  be 
permitted  to  substitute  service  in  hospitals,  government  fac- 
tories, railroads,  and  especially  in  the  national  forestries,  none 
of  which  industries  were  carried  on  under  the  military  arm  of 
the  government.  Count  von  Todtleben  was  sent  among  the 
Mennonite  settlements  to  induce  them  to  accept  the  service 
and  not  emigrate  to  America.  By  this  time,  however,  the 
emigration  fever  had  already  become  quite  general.  Although 
many  were  turned  from  their  original  purpose,  yet  about  one- 
third  of  the  whole  Mennonite  population  objected  to  any  sort 
of  service  that  was  in  any  way  connected  with  militarism,  and 
these  finally  nearly  all  found  their  way  to  America.  The 
government  set  the  year  1880  as  the  date  for  the  beginning  of 
the  forestry  service  and  up  to  that  time,  Mennonites  were  free 
to  emigrate  with  all  their  possessions  without  the  payment  of 
a  special  emigration  tax. 

The  Russian  Government  did  not  encourage  the  emigra- 
tion, however.  Several  men  who  had  played  a  leading  role 
in  the  emigration  propaganda  were  ordered  to  leave  the  coun- 
try on  short  notice.  Among  these  was  Cornelius  Jansen, 
prominent  resident,  though  not  a  Russian  citizen  of  Berdiansk, 
who  had  formerly  acted  as  Prussian  consul  at  that  port.  One 
day  in  April,  1873,  Jansen  was  given  seven    days  in    which    to 


RUSSIA  173 

dispose  of  his  property  and  leave  Russia  never  to  return.  The 
time  was  finally  extended  to  sixty  days,  however,  through  the 
intervention  of  Bismarck,  who  still  had  great  influence  at  St. 
Petersburg  and  with  whom  Jansen  had  become  acquainted 
while  consul.  Jansen  came  to  America  the  same  year,  where 
together  with  his  son,  Peter,  he  played  an  important  part  in 
locating  his  fellow-countrymen  upon  the  western  prairies 
during  the  years  immediately  following. 

In  the  meantime  a  delegation  of  twelve  men  was  sent  to 
America  in  1873  to  investigate  various  sites  in  Western 
Canada  and  United  States  suitable  for  future  homes.  This 
committee  reporting  favorably  upon  its  return,  preparations 
were  made  for  a  large  exodus  the  following  year.  Among  the 
leaders  during  the  next  few  years  were  Elder  Leonhard  Suder- 
man  of  Berdiansk,  already  mentioned,  Elder  Isaac  Peters  of 
Pordenau,  Elder  Jacob  B'uller,  Minister  Heinrich  Richert, 
Elder  Jacob  Wiebe  of  the  Crimean  "Kleine  Gemeinde,"  Johann 
Wiebe  of  Chortitz,  Gerhard  Wiebe  of  the  Bergthal  colony, 
and  Abraham  Schellenburg  of  the  Brudergemeinde  who  did 
not  arrive  until  1879. 

As  already  seen  the  decision  to  emigrate  was  not  unani- 
mous. The  majority  decided  to  remain  in  Russia,  maintain- 
ing that  under  the  circumstances  the  Russian  Government  had 
been  quite  liberal  toward  Mennonite  scruples.  Among  these 
were  many  prominent  men,  who  accused  the  leaders  of  the 
emigration  movement  of  being  actuated  sometimes  by  other 
than  purely  religious  motives  in  their  desire  to  leave  Russia. 
The  loss  of  their  special  status  as  Germans,  it  was  charged, 
had  as  much  influence  with  these  as  did  the  loss  of  their 
religious  status.  Undoubtedly  there  was  a  grain  of  truth  in 
this  charge.  The  Mennonites  clung  tenaciously  to  their  Ger- 
man inheritance.  Of  the  committeemen  sent  to  St.  Petersburg 
in  1871  only  two  could  speak  Russian.  The  remainder  were 
censured  at  the  time  by  the  Government  officials  for  inability 
to  speak  the  language  of  their  native  land,  three-quarters  of  a 
century  after  the  founding  of  the  first    settlement.       Even    in 


174  THE  MENNONITES 

America  one  sometimes  hears  the  expression  among  Menno- 
nites  that  Mennonitism  is  closely  tied  up  with  "Deutschtum." 
A  recent  well-known  historian  of  the  church  suggests  that 
Mennonitism  would  lose  much  of  its  essential  character  with 
the  loss  of  the  German  language.  In  addition  to  both  the 
motives  just  expressed  there  was  the  further  economic  con- 
sideration. While  there  were  a  few  wealthy  men  among  the 
emigrants  who  sold  their  Russian  holdings  at  a  great  sacrifice 
and  a  number  of  well-to-do,  the  large  majority  were  poor  men 
and  had  to  be  given  financial  aid  in  their  early  American 
homes. 

From  1874  to  1880  there  was  a  continual  stream  of 
emigrants  leaving  from  all  the  colonies,  and  the  various  wings 
of  the  church.  The  Bergthal  colony  of  five  villages  left  as  a 
body,  as  did  also  the  two  Huterite  villages.  The  Alexander- 
wohl  congregation  transplanted  itself  bodily  to  Kansas  where 
it  resumed  its  life  under  the  same  name.  Every  colony  in 
South  Russia  made  its  contribution  to  the  general  movement. 
In  all,  somewhere  between  twelve  and  fifteen  thousand  left 
Russian  soil  for  Western  America. 

Not  all  of  those  who  objected  to  forestry  service  left  for 
America.  One  small  group  in  the  Saratov  colony  and  another 
in  the  Molotschna  turned  their  faces  eastward.  The  Koeppen- 
thal  congregation  in  Saratov  had  come  here  as  already  in- 
dicated from  West  Prussia  in  the  fifties.  Even  in  their  old 
home  a  number  of  these  colonists  had  come  under  the  influence 
of  certain  chiliastic  ideas.  Chiliastic  literature  followed  them 
to  their  new  home.  One  of  their  own  members,  too,  Claas  Epp 
Junior,  son  of  the  first  leader  of  the  same  name,  wrote  a  book 
explaining  the  prophecies  of  Daniel  and  the  mysteries  of 
Revelation,  of  which  he  had  three  editions  issued  at  his  own 
expense  and  which  he  distributed  widely.  According  to  this 
interpretation  Christ  would  appear  in  1889,  and  somewhere  in 
Middle  Asia  was  to  be  found  the  gathering  place  for  the 
faithful.  The  church  in  "Philadelphia"  mentioned  in  Revela- 
tion to  which  the  open  door  was  to  be  revealed,  of  course, 


RUSSIA  175 

meant  his  own  little  flock.  As  1880,  the  close  of  the  exemption 
period,  drew  near,  preparations  were  made  not  only  in  the  Salt 
Tract  in  Saratov,  but  also  in  the  congregation  of  Elder  Abra- 
ham Peters  in  the  Molotschna,  who  held  views  similar  to 
those  of  Epp,  for  the  most  visionary  adventure  in  all  Menno- 
nite  history — an  exodus  to  a  wild,  unknown  barren  land  in  the 
heart  of  a  Mohammedan  population  to  meet  the  Lord  and 
inaugurate  the  Millenium.  In  the  meantime  at  St.  Petersburg 
a  special  committee  had  secured  from  Governor  General  Kauff- 
man  of  Turkestan  permission  to  locate  near  Tashkend,  and  a 
promise  of  military  exemption.  Epp's  followers  accordingly 
sold  their  property  and  started  out  on  their  adventure. 

The  first  party  of  ten  families,  seventeen  wagons  and  forty 
horses  started  out  July,  3,  1880  headed  toward  the  east, 
accompanied  for  a  short  distance  by  relatives,  prospective 
fellow-wanderers,  and  friends  and  singing  the  well  known  old 
hymn  as  a  fitting  pilgrim  song, 

"Our  journey  is  through  the  Wilderness 
To  the  promised  Canaan." 

For  fifteen  long  weeks  they  continued  to  drag  their  weary 
way  toward  the  southeast  over  the  mountain  passes,  across 
uninhabited  steppes,  a  vast  stretch  of  desert,  enduring  all  sorts 
of  hardships  until  they  finally  reached  Kaplan  Bek,  some 
fifteen  miles  from  Tashkend,  where  they  prepared  to  camp  for 
the  winter.  Twelve  children  had  died  on  the  way.  Temporary 
shelter  was  put  up  where  many  died  from  typhoid  fever,  in  the 
course  of  a  short  time. 

The  same  fall  another  train  of  thirteen  families  from  the 
Salt  Tract,  and  one  of  fifty-six  families  from  the  Molotschna 
under  Elder  Abraham  Peters,  had  started  out.  Both  groups 
reached  their  destination  the  same  fall.  The  latter  remained 
in  Tashkend  for  the  winter.  The  next  spring  the  two  groups 
parted,  a  quarrel  having  arisen  over  the  question  of  church 
organization.    Elder  Peters'  group,  with  a  few  from  the    Sara- 


176  THE  MENNONITES 

tov  party,  finally  located  at  Aulia  Ata  on  the  Talas  river  at  the 
foot  of  the  Alexander  mountains  about  one  hundred  and  fifty 
miles  from  Tashkend.  Here  Elder  Peters  soon  died  and  the 
remainder  of  the  colonists  forgetting  their  millenarian  de- 
lusions built  up  a  rather  prosperous  settlement.  The  colony 
now  consists  of  five  villages  with  a  population  of  nearly  one 
thousand.  Military  exemption,  however,  was  not  granted 
them.  They  accepted  the  same  kind  of  forestry  service  they 
might  have  had  in  Russia.  A  little  later  about  one-half  of  this 
colony  formed  a  Bruedergemeinde. 

In  the  meantime,  in  the  winter  of  1881,  the  last  group  of 
twenty-five  families  from  Saratov  under  the  leadership  of  Epp 
himself  had  arrived.  He  immediately  took  charge  of  the  three 
Saratov  contingents,  and  the  breach  with  the  Peters'  party 
became  more  marked  than  ever.  The  followers  of  Epp  now 
sought  in  vain  for  a  location  near  Tashkend  and  Bokhara 
where  they  might  escape  military  service.  They  were  driven 
from  one  place  to  another  until  they  were  finally  offered  an 
asylum  by  the  Khan  of  Khiva,  who  desired  German  settlers 
within  his  territory.  Epp  regarding  this  as  the  open  door 
spoken  of  in  Revelations  accepted  the  invitation,  locating  on, 
the  Lausan,  a  tributary  of  the  Amu.  The  open  door,  however, 
only  proved  to  be  one  to  further  trouble.  Their  mud  houses 
with  thatched  roofs  were  not  rain  proof,  and  many  died  of 
malaria.  Worst  of  all,  bands  of  thieving  Turks  began  to  steal 
their  horses.  Finding  the  non-resisting  settlers  an  easy  prey, 
they  soon  became  bolder  and  made  nightly  raids,  breaking  into 
houses,  stealing  whatever  they  could  find  and  even  attempting 
to  carry  away  the  most  attractive  women.  In  one  of  these 
raids  one  of  the  settlers  was  murdered.  The  young  men 
finally  asked  permission  to  defend  themselves  with  weapons, 
but  the  only  means  of  defence  granted  by  the  leaders  was 
permission  to  remain  up  all  night  armed  with  clubs  and  canes. 
These  weapons,  however,  proved  no  match  for  the  swords  of 
the  Turks  and  the  settlers  were  finally  forced  to  strain  their 
extreme  non-resistant  principles  to  the  extent  of  asking  pro- 


RUSSIA  177 

tection  from  the  Khan.  The  latter  sent  them  a  group  of 
soldiers  but  as  soon  as  these  were  withdrawn  depredations 
were  renewed.  They  were  finally  offered  a  refuge  near  the 
city  of  Khiva,  at  Ak  Metchedj,  where  they  still  live. 

In  the  meantime,  Epp  went  from  bad  to  worse  in  his 
extravagant  views.  He  was  largely  guided  by  dreams  and 
visions.  For  every  mystery  in  Revelation  he  had  an  inter- 
pretation. He  himself  was  to  be  one  of  the  two  witnesses  of 
the  coming  Millennium.  A  fellow-minister  with  whom  he  had 
a  quarrel  and  whom  he  excommunicated  was  the  Red  Dragon, 
whose  expulsion  was  celebrated  for  many  years  by  the  congre- 
gation. Other  similar  holidays  were  added  while  less  and  less 
was  made  of  the  old  holy  days.  Soon  Epp  was  to  meet  Elijah 
in  the  skies  and  with  him  be  transported  bodily  to  Heaven. 
The  time  was  actually  announced  and  an  audience  of  both  the 
faithful  and  doubtful  gathered  to  bid  him  farewell.  A  table 
was  prepared,  behind  which  stood  Epp  clad  in  his  ascension 
robes  ready  to  depart.  It  is  said  by  those  present  that  he 
actually  disappeared  from  behind  the  table,  but  no  one 
witnessed  his  ascension. 

Finally  the  great  day  for  Christ's  appearance  on  Earth 
was  set  for  March  8,  1889.  As  the  time  passed  without  any 
unusual  occurrence,  Epp  was  ready  with  an  explanation  for 
the  failure  of  his  prophecy.  He  had  been  given  the  clue  by  an 
old  wall-clock,  whose  hands  pointed  to  89  on  the  dial.  But  now 
in  a  vision  he  had  been  shown  that  the  clock  had  indicated 
the  wrong  numbers  because  it  had  been  leaning  slightly  to 
one  side.  Upon  being  stood  erect  it  indicated.  91.  That  was 
now  to  mark  the  end — the  year  1891.  The  climax  came  when 
Epp  finally  claimed  to  be  a  son  of  Christ  as  Christ  was  the 
Son  of  God,  thus  constituting  the  fourth  person  of  the  God- 
head. In  baptism  he  used  the  formula  Father,  Sons,  and  Holy 
Ghost. 

As  a  result  of  these  extravagances  and  blasphemies  Epp's 
flock  continually  dwindled  smaller.  Many  had  been  cured 
early  of  their  foolish  beliefs,  and  in  the  early  eighties  had 


178  THE  MENNONITES 

come  to  America.  Some  returned  to  Russia;  others  joined 
the  Aulia  Ata  colony;  a  handful,  however,  as  misguided  as 
Epp  himself  remained  loyal  to  him  awhile  longer,  but  even 
these  finally  found  his  extravagances  unbearable,  and  were 
forced  to  excommunicate  him.  He  died  in  1913.  At  that  time 
the  settlement  consisted  of  about  twenty  families  located  on 
about  fifteen  acres  of  land,  most  of  whom  were  earning  their 
bread  by  some  sort  of  day  labor. 

This  episode,  the  strangest  in  Mennonite  annals,  is  not 
without  a  moral.  Mennonites  have  been  rather  susceptible  to 
such  unwholesome  influences.  Several  times  undue  stress  upon 
chiliastic  and  apocalyptic  views  has  led  to  unfortunate  results. 
Even  at  the  present  time  perhaps  there  is  more  teaching  of 
this  sort  than  is  wholesome  which,  in  times  of  stress  might 
easily  lead  to  undesirable  results. 

A  much  more  important  migration  of  an  entirely  differ- 
ent character  was  that  into  western  Siberia  during  the  early 
years  of  the  twentieth  century,  in  the  general  region  of  Omsk 
in  the  provinces  of  Tomsk,  and  Akmolinsk  on  both  sides  of 
the  Siberian  Railway.  The  first  group  of  settlers  came  from 
the  Molotschna  and  Samara  locating  near  Omsk  in  Akmolinsk 
in  1889.  By  1913  the  colony  had  grown  to  about  five  thousand 
inhabitants.  In  1897  a  colony  had  also  located  in  Tomsk  at 
Baulodar,  where  by  1913  there  were  twelve  villages,  and  in 
1909  a  much  larger  settlement  was  founded  at  Barnaul,  one 
hundred  and  seventy-five  miles  south  of  the  Siberian  Railroad 
where  there  are  now  forty-five  villages  and  a  population  of 
some  eleven  thousand.  These  latter  were  principally  of  the 
poorer  classes  in  the  old  colonies,  coming  from  the  landless 
group.  At  the  time  of  the  migration,  each  family  was  given 
four  hundred  rubles  by  the  home-colony.  In  the  first  years 
they  endured  many  hardships,  being  far  from  the  railroad  and 
without  marketing  facilities.  A  branch  railroad  has  now  been 
built  to  their  colony.  In  recent  years,  however,  several  suc- 
cessive drouths  and  now  the  war,  have  greatly  impoverished 
many  of  the  settlers. 


Mennonite  Church  at  Ohrloff,  Russia. 


Girls    School,  Halbstadt,  Russia. 


RUSSIA  179 

The  forestry  service  in  Russia  for  the  Mennonite  young 
men  was  inaugurated  in  1880.  Most  of  the  men  took  this  ser- 
vice in  preference  to  other  forms  of  state  work  open  to  them. 
The  law  provided  that  they  work  in  groups  and  live  in  bar- 
racks by  themselves.  These  barracks  were  provided  by  the 
church  and  a  minister  was  in  charge,  looking  after  their  spir- 
itual needs.  Before  the  war  there  were  eight  of  these  forestry 
barracks  in  which  about  one  thousand  young  men  were  serv- 
ing. The  service,  at  first  four  years  was  later  reduced  to  three. 
During  the  recent  war  the  Mennonites  were  able  to  maintain 
their  non-combatant  standing. 

The  program  of  Russianification  inaugurated  between 
1870  and  1880  included  also  the  partial  control  of  the  school 
system.  The  schools  remained  largely  church  schools,  how- 
ever. As  such  the  Mennonite  authorities  remained  in  charge 
of  all  religious  instruction  and  of  all  German  branches,  while 
the  Russian  Government  school  officials  took  over  the  super- 
vision of  all  other  subjects.  In  addition  to  the  village  schools 
there  are  ten  advanced  schools  similar  to  our  high  schools 
called  Central  schools.  Several  of  these,  including  those  at 
Halbstadt,  Chortitz,  and  Omsk,  give  additional  pedagogical 
courses  for  the  training  of  teachers.  The  Central  schools  are 
not  co-educational,  and  consequently  a  number  of  girls' 
schools  are  provided  for. 

The  statistics  for  1910  show  that  of  village  schools,  in- 
cluding those  on  large  estates,  there  are  about  four  hundred 
throughout  all  the  various  Mennonite  settlements.  The 
teachers,  almost  exclusively  men,  number  about  five  hundred. 
Salaries  in  the  villages  average  about  $300,  with  a  teacherage. 
The  highest  salaries  paid  in  a  Central  school  are  $800.  The 
Ohrloff  Central  school  has  adopted  a  pension  system.  During 
the  above  year  there  were  about  15,000  Mennonite  children  in 
the  schools.  There  were  about  two  hundred  young  men  and 
women  in  the  Russian  institutions  of  higher  learning,  and 
fifty  in  foreign  universities  and  schools. 


180  THE  MENNONITES 

Many  of  the  ministers  come  from  the  teaching  ranks  and 
thus  are  equipped  with  some  pedagogical  training.  There 
were  in  1910  about  five  hundred  ministers  all  told  of  whom 
forty-seven  were  elders.  About  one-third  of  these  ministers 
have  received  either  pedagogical  or  theological  training.  With 
the  exception  of  travelling  and  visiting  ministers  the  preach- 
ers receive  no  stipulated  salary,  although  many  receive  some 
support. 

During  the  last  forty  years  there  has  been  a  growing  in- 
terest in  missions.  In  1881  the  pioneer  missionary,  Henry 
Dirks,  returning  from  Sumatra,  became  elder  of  the  Gnaden- 
feld  church  and  also  travelling  secretary  for  the  mission  work, 
in  which  capacity  he  greatly  increased  missionary  interest. 
The  work  in  Russia  is  carried  on  through  the  Dutch  society 
in  which  the  Russian  church  is  represented  by  a  Board  mem- 
ber. In  1910  there  were  ten  active  Russian  missionaries  in 
Sumatra  and  Java,  while  four  had  returned  to  the  homeland. 
The  Bruedergemeinde  works  with  the  ,  Baptist  society.  In 
the  same  year  they  were  represented  by  seven  missionaries 
on  the  field. 

Since  1883  the  various  (Altkirchliche)  Russian  Menno- 
nite  congregations  are  bound  together  by  a  General  Confer- 
ence which  took  the  place  of  the  old  Church  council  organized 
in  1850.  This  conference  meets  annually.  The  session  of 
1910  devoted  much  of  its  time  to  hearing  reports  from  various 
church  institutions,  but  also  passed  several  interesting  reso- 
lutions. One  of  these  recommended  that  dramatic  perform- 
ances in  the  literary  clubs  in  the  schools  be  discouraged,  es- 
pecially in  the  Christmas  exercises ;  another  advised  the  elder 
not  to  marry  cousins.  Several  ministers  were  appointed  to 
visit  the  Siberian  churches  and  distribute  among  them  such 
financial  aid  as  the  church  desired  to  send  them.  The  confer- 
ence also  supervises  a  number  of  charitable  institutions.  Among 
these  are  a  number  of  hospitals,  several  orphanages  and 
old  people's  homes,  a  deaf  and  dumb  school,  and  a  sanitarium. 

The  literary  output  of  the  Russian  Mennonites  has  not 


RUSSIA  181 

been  extensive.  The  first  book  published  in  Russia  was  the 
ninth  edition  of  the  old  Prussian  song  book  published  at 
Odessa  in  1844.  Outside  of  school-books,  Confessions  of 
Faith,  catechisms  and  song  books,  not  much  has  been  written 
or  published  since.  Being  Germans  they  imported  German 
editions  of  Menno  Simons,  van  Bracht  and  Deitrich 
Philip,  a  few  controversial  pamphlets  which  together  with 
such  additional  allegories  as  "Die  Wandelnde  Seele",  fur- 
nished the  sole  source  next  to  the  Bible  of  mental  and  spiri- 
tual food.  A  number  of  historical  works  have  appeared,  how- 
ever, during  the  past  forty  years  by  far  the  most  compre- 
hensive of  which  is  the  recent  work  by  P.  M.  Friesen. 

"Der  Botschafter"  published  at  Ekaterinoslav  is  the  offi- 
cial church  organ.  The  Bruedergemeinde  published  the 
"Friedenstimme"  at  Halbstadt,  but  the  name  was  changed 
since  the  war.     Several  Year  Books  also  appear  annually. 

The  German  Mennonites  of  Russia  on  the  whole  have 
been  successful  and  prosperous  in  their  material  life,  greatly 
exceeding  in  wealth  and  achievement  that  of  the  native  Rus- 
sians. In  1908  the  total  Mennonite  wealth  was  250,000,000 
rubles  ($125,000,000),  a  per  capita  wealth  of  $625  for  every 
man,  woman  and  child,  the  average  throughout  Russia  being 
only  $200.  The  Mennonites  owned  before  the  war  about 
2,500,000  acres  of  land,  an  average  per  capita  of  twenty-sev- 
en acres.  P.  M.  Friesen,  from  whose  valuable  history  these 
statistics  are  taken,  estimates  that  the  entire  Mennonite  pop- 
ulation counts  up  between  85,000  and  100,000,  of  whom  a  little 
less  than  one-half  among  the  "alt  Kirchlichen  Mennoniten" 
(Mennonites  not  of  the  Bruedergemeinde)  are  actual  baptized 
members.  The  ratio  is  about  four  to  five.  Of  the  entire  Men- 
nonite population  about  17,000  are  of  the  Bruedergemeinde, 
about  7,000  of  whom  are  baptized  members.  The  ratio  of 
baptized  to  unbaptized  among  these  is  about  as  two  to  five. 
"Kroeker's  Familien  Kalender"  gives  the  following  statistics 
for  all  Mennonites  for  1911 :  Taurida,  75  villages,  33,500  souls; 
Ekaterinoslav,  72  villages,  21,440  souls;  Kherson,  16  villages, 


182  THE  MENNONITES 

5,600  souls;  Samara,  35  villages,  12,000  souls;  Orenburg,  20 
villages,  8,000  souls;  Stravapol  (Kuban)  2  villages,  2200  souls; 
Terek,  12  villages,  3,000  souls ;  with  scattered  settlements  in 
Warsaw,  Volhynia,  Saratov  and  Ufa.  In  Siberia  also  there  are 
two  large  settlements  of  about  10,000  souls  in  50  villages. 

During  the  recent  war  the  Russian  Mennonites  were  able 
to  maintain  the  privileges  granted  them  in  1873,  that  of  non- 
combatant  service.  It  is  estimated  that  in  all  some  eleven 
thousand  served  in  some  capacity  during  the  three  years  of 
war.  About  three  thousand  had  volunteered  in  the  hospital 
and  other  sanitary  departments.  These  received  government 
support  for  themselves  and  their  families.  The  remainder, 
however,  in  various  kinds  of  non-combatant  service  had  to  be 
supported  by  the  church  at  large,  which  proved  to  be  rather 
a  heavy  burden. 

Being  Germans,  the  Mennonites  together  with  other 
Germans,  were  early  placed  under  special  restrictions  by  the 
Russian  Government.  Their  German  schools  were  closed.  The 
German  language  was  prohibited  in  worship.  Their  German 
church  papers  "Der  Bbtschafter,"  and  the  "Friedenstimme" 
were  forced  to  suspend.  A  number  of  individuals  were  sent 
into  Siberian  exile  for  alleged  disloyal  utterances.  Others 
were  cast  into  prison,  but  frequently  promised  their  freedom 
upon  th<*  rayment  of  large  sums  of  money.  Great  was  the 
gloorr  •  nong  the  Mennonites  as  to  their  future,  and  before 
191'  iere  was  a  prevailing  sentiment  among  them  for  migra- 
tion to  America  after  the  war. 

Then  came  the  Revolution  of  1917  which  dethroned  the 
Czar  and  established  the  republic,  freeing  all  people  and 
giving  them  equal  rights.  Gloom  was  turned  to  great  re- 
joicing for  a  brief  period.  Although  the  Mennonites  had  been 
loyal  to  the  Czar  and  his  government  throughout  the  early 
years  of  the  war,  they  were  also  sympathetic  to  the  new 
republic  when  it  was  established  and  from  which  they  to- 
gether with     all  others     expected  a  new    reign  of    universal 


RUSSIA  183 

freedom.  The  beginning  augured  well.  The  restrictions  on 
the  use  of  German  were  removed.  Their  schools  and  churches 
were  again  opened,  and  their  papers  again  published,  but  the 
"Friedenstimme"  under  a  new  name,  the  "Volksfreund." 
The  exiles  were  permitted  to  return.  These  privileges 
especially  so  far  as  the  use  of  the  German  was  concerned  were 
guaranteed  by  the  treaty  of  Brest-Litovsk.  The  war  for  them 
was  over. 

But  the  rejoicing  was  premature.  Hardly  had  the  new 
republic  been  inaugurated  when  it  collapsed  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  the  government  of  the  Bolsheviki,  which  intro- 
duced a  period  of  anarchy,  bringing  with  it  burdens  for  the 
middle  class  and  especially  the  non-resistant  Mennonites  in 
many  respects,  greater  than  those  of  the  war  itself.  During 
the  past  three  years  the  channels  of  communication  with 
Russia  have  been  pretty  effectually  closed,  but  from  oc- 
casional letters  to  friends  in  America,  and  accounts  of  condi- 
tions appearing  in  the  Swiss  and  German  Mennonite  papers 
we  learn  in  a  general  way  of  the  Mennonite  situation.  Now 
that  the  war  is  over  we  will  know  more  about  the  actual  con- 
ditions. Most  of  the  Mennonites  in  Russia  live  in  the  Ukraine 
but  their  experiences  were  similar  in  the  various  divisions  of 
old  Russia  wherever  Bolshevism  was  in  control.  The  program 
of  the  Bolsheviki  included  the  nationalization  of  all  land  and 
the  equalization  of  property.  This  program  was  carried  out, 
reducing  many  of  the  wealthy  Mennonites  as  well  as  other 
landowners  to  besrears. 


-fc>b* 


According  to  letters  from  Russia  appearing  in  such 
papers  as  the  Rundschau,  Bundesbote,  Zionsbote,  Wahrheits- 
freund,  and  Herold  and  other  papers  circulating  among  the 
American  Russian  churches  we  learn  that  in  the  Ukraine 
the  land  was  to  be  sold  by  January,  1917,  at  a  nominal  price, 
and  paid  for  in  twenty-five  year  bonds  bearing  interest  at  the 
rate  of  four  and  one-half  per  cent.  Bolsheviki  committees  con- 
sisting often  of  the  hired  men  of  former  owners  appraised  the 


184  THE  MENNONITES 

value  of  the  machinery,  equipment  and  products  on  the 
estates  with  a  view  to  distribution,  and  remained  on  the 
grounds  as  guards  to  prevent  the  sale  of  movable  property. 
Each  colony  was  assessed  a  certain  sum  of  money  which  it 
was  to  pay  into  the  treasury  of  the  new  Bolsheviki  govern- 
ment. The  sum  for  the  Molotschna  colony  was  5,000,000 
rubles ;  Chortitz  was  to  pay  2,000,000  rubles,  and  seventeen 
prominent  men  were  taken  away  as  hostages  who  were 
threatened  with  death  if  the  contribution  was  not  made  up. 

Worst  of  all  was  the  collapse  of  government  everywhere 
and  the  class  war  which  followed  throughout  all  Russia. 
Marauding  bands  of  cut-throats  took  advantage  of  the  situa- 
tion and  roved  about  the  country  at  will,  stealing,  plundering, 
destroying  and  killing  as  they  pleased.  The  wealthy,  non- 
resistant  Mennonite  communities  seemed  to  be  special  marks 
for  these  lawless  bands,  although,  of  course,  the  same  con- 
ditions prevailed  throughout  the  greater  part  of  the  former 
empire.  The  large  estates  in  the  open  country  were  the  first 
to  fall  victims  to  the  marauders.  Early  in  1917  many  of  the 
farmers  were  forced  to  seek  refuge  in  the  towns  after  their  farms 
had  been  plundered  and  their  buildings  often  destroyed.  Many 
of  the  small  villages  were  completely  ruined — among  them 
Steinbach  and  others  in  the  Molotschna  colony.  At  Halbstadt 
a  small  band  of  ruffians  heavily  armed  and  assisted  by  some 
sailors  from  the  Azov,  plundered  the  community  at  will,  took 
a  number  of  prisoners,  and  shot  down  in  cold  blood  six  of  the 
leading  Mennonites.  The  Mennonite  villages  were  made  to 
suffer  more  heavily  perhaps  because  they  were  known  to  be 
non-resistant.  The  bands  of  plunderers  were  not  always 
large  and  in  non-Mennonite  communities  where  there  were  no 
conscientious  scruples  against  self-defense  by  force  of  arms, 
well-organized  local  militia  often  were  able  to  prevent  the 
most  serious  of  similar  disturbances.  An  Evangelical  village 
near  the  Molotschna  community,  having  no  scruples  against 
the  bearing  of  arms,  armed  its  citizens,  proclaimed  them- 
selves Bolsheviki  also,  and  threatened    to     shoot     any     Bol- 


RUSSIA  185 

sheviki  from  elsewhere  who  dared  touch  their  property.  Their 
rights  were  undoubtedly  respected.* 

The  community  which  seems  to  have  suffered  most  was 
the  colony  in  the  province  of  Terek,  in  the  Caucusas.  Accord- 
ing to  a  letter  appearing  in  the  Bundesbote  of  October  31, 
1918,  this  colony  consisting  of  fourteen  Mennonite  villages, 
was  continuously  harassed  by  their  Mohammedan  neighbors 
who  took  advantage  of  the  anarchy  of  the  times  and  the 
non-resistant  spirit  of  the  Mennonites.  The  latter  after 
suffering  many  hardships  and  the  loss  of  several  persons  at 
the  hands  of  the  Mohammedans  were  forced  to  decide  be- 
tween taking  up  arms  in  self-defense  or  abandoning  all  their 
possessions  to  their  enemies.  At  a  meeting  of  the  leaders  held 
February  8,  1918,  it  was  decided  not  to  organize  a  local 
militia,  but  rather  to  abandon  all  their  possessions  valued  at 
millions  of  dollars,  and  seek  refuge  among  their  brethren  in 
the  interior.  This  decision  was  carried  out  and  at  the  time 
the  above  letter  was  written  most  of  them  were  still  among 
the  Mennonites  in  Kuban,  others  in  Taurien  and  Ekaterino- 
slav.  If  these  conditions  were  to  continue  for  any  length  of 
time  among  the  Mennonites,  of  course,  there  would  be  an- 
other exodus  to  a  more  secure  land.  Many  have  already  been 
looking  toward  other  countries  with  a  view  to  leaving 
Russia.  But  as  this  is  written  the  peace  terms  of  the  great 
war  are  being  arranged  and  undoubtedly  out  of  it  will  also 
come  peace  and  established  order  for  distracted  Russia. 


*Since  the  above  was  written  it  seems  that  the  Mennonites  were 
forced  in  some  parts  of  Russia  to  give  up  their  non-resistant  prin- 
ciples and  resort  to  arms  for  self-protection.  For  a  brief  description 
of  conditions  in  the  Mennonite  settlements  in  the  winter  of  1919,  see 
a  letter  dated  January  29,  1919,  from  Halbstadt,  written  to  Peter  Jan- 
sen  of  Beatrice,  Nebraska,  and  printed  in  The  Mennonite  of  October 
2,  1919. 


186  THE  MENNONITES 


CHAPTER  VIII 

FRANCE,  ALSACE  AND  LORRAINE 

The  three  political  divisions  named  in  the  title  are 
grouped  together  here  because  they  really  form  one  settle- 
ment historically  and  geographically,  and  until  1870  were 
much  of  the  time  under  the  same  political  jurisdiction.  We 
have  already  seen  that  early  in  the  history  of  the  Anabaptist 
movement,  Strasburg  became  a  rallying  point  for  the  breth- 
ren. Here  such  men  as  Denck,  Hetzer,  Sattler,  Marbeck  and 
Hoffman  labored.  Here  also  were  held  later  a  number  of  im- 
portant conferences.  Small  settlements  were  found  early  in 
the  Jura  and  Vosges  mountains  and  the  surrounding  country 
in  France,  Alsace  and  Lorraine.  These  original  settlements, 
however,  in  course  of  time,  were  all  practically  exterminated. 
The  present  congregations  are  almost  entirely  the  result  of 
Swiss  immigration  from  1650  to  1750,  and  are  for  the  most  part 
of  the  Amish  branch  of  the  church.  The  following  list  of  minis- 
ters taken  from  a  recent  Year-book  shows  that  even  in  present 
France  they  are  of  Swiss  and  German,  and  not  of  French  ances- 
try. The  list  includes  such  names  as  Schmutz,  Roth,  Lugbill, 
Joder,  Widmer,  Amstutz,  Graber,  Klopfenstein,  Goldschmidt, 
Kennel,  Hirschy,  Bachman,  Esch,  Schmouker,  Sommer, 
Gingerich,  Springer,  Lidwiller  and  Mosiman.  In  Alsace  and 
Lorraine  appear  the  additional  names  of  Ropp,  Peterschmidt, 
Grieser,  Augsburger,  Wagler,  Wenger,  Neuhusser,  Guth, 
Jordy,  Pelsy,  Schantz,  Nafziger  and  Schertz. 

The  Mennonite  population  of  Alsace  and  Lorraine  in  1914 
was  approximately  twenty-three  hundred  souls,  grouped 
under  eleven  scattered  congregations     extending  along  a  line 


h 


OQ 


3 
O 


FRANCE,  ALSACE  AND  LORRAINE  187 

of  small  communities  through  the  middle  of  the  provinces 
from  Altkirch  in  the  south,  through  Colmar,  Dieuze,  to  near 
Metz  on  the  north.  In  France  there  is  a  population  of  about 
tv^elve  hundred,  scattered  through  eleven  congregations  near 
the  Alsatian  border,  in  the  departments  of  Doubs,  Haut, 
Saone,  Vosges,  Haut  Marne,  Meuse  and  Meurthe  et  Moselle. 

Alsace  and  Lorraine  were  under  various  political  juris- 
dictions until  the  reign  of  Louis  XIV,  when  both  were  added 
to  France  under  whose  control  they  remained  until  the  Franco- 
Prussian  war  in  1870.  As  already  seen,  during  the  Swiss 
persecutions  of  the  seventeenth  century  these  regions  offered 
an  asylum  for  Mennonites.  Louis  XIV,  however,  attempted 
to  persecute  them,  and  issued  a  decree  in  1672  banishing 
them.  But  an  investigation  of  the  teaching  of  the  Menno- 
nites of  the  Netherlands  by  a  French  theologian  who  had  in- 
fluence with  the  king  resulted  in  staying  the  persecution.  The 
fact  that  they  lived  quiet  and  simple  lives  in  the  secluded 
valleys  of  the  Vosges  mountains  undoubtedly  also  contributed 
to  their  security.  In  1712  when  the  Swiss  were  coming  into 
Alsace  the  king  again  ordered  them  out.  Some  obeyed  the 
order  and  settled  in  the  Duchy  of  Zweibrucken,  but  others  re- 
mained being  protected  by  the  petty  noblemen  on  whose  es- 
tates they  had  proved  themselves  industrious  and  profitable 
tenants.  After  1728  during  the  regency  of  the  Duke  of  Or- 
leans, Mennonites  were  legally  permitted  to  remain,  but  not 
to  expand  their  settlements.  This  order  was  secured  by  noble- 
men who  desired  to  retain  the  Mennonites  as  tenants  on  their 
estates. 

As  in  other  countries  Mennonites  found  it  difficult  here 
also  to  escape  universal  military  service.  During  the  French 
Revolution  in  1793,  they  petitioned  the  National  Convention 
for  release  from  the  general  levies  which  were  then  being 
made  in  the  wars  against  Prussia  and  Austria.  The  Committee 
of  Public  Safety  composed  at  that  time  of  Robespierre  and 
four  others  issued  an  order  in  which  they  commended  the 
Mennonites  for  their  simple  virtues  and  recommended  to  the 


188  THE  MENNONITES 

local  authorities  that  they  treat  them  considerately  and  per- 
mit them  to  enter  non-combatant  service,  or  even  to  substitute 
for  personal  service  an  extra  tax.  This  limited  exemption  was 
retained  for  a  while,  and  when  it  was  no  longer  renewed 
Mennonites  took  advantage  of  the  right  to  secure  substitutes 
when  they  were  conscripted.  In  the  conscription  laws  for 
universal  military  service  passed  since  the  Franco-Prussian 
war  no  special  privileges  were  granted  the  Mennonites.  A 
number  have  emigrated  to  America  during  the  last  hundred 
years.  The  rest  have  taken  service  and  in  the  recent  war 
have  fought  against  their  brethren  across  the  arbitrary  divi- 
ding line  which  separated  the  French  from  the  Alsatian 
churches. 

After  the  Napoleonic  wars,  from  1820  to  1850,  a  number 
of  families  from  all  these  regions  emigrated  to  America.  The 
large  Amish  settlement  in  central  Illinois,  and  those  in  Butler 
and  Fulton  counties,  Ohio,  New  York  and  Canada  are  largely 
made  up  of  Alsatians  and  Lotharingians  with  some  from  pres- 
ent France  and  South  Germany. 

The  following  description  of  the  Amish  taken  from  a 
French  religious  journal  in  1819  at  the  time  of  the  emigra- 
tion to  America  describes  the  ideas  and  customs  which  they 
brought  with  them  to  the  new  world. 

"The  entire  number  of  souls  may  be  twelve  or  fifteen 
hundred  scattered  about  through  German  Lotharingia,  Elsasz 
and  the  neighboring  Departments.  Their  principal  settlement 
is  at  Salm,  near  the  Vosges  which  they  occupy  almost  exclu- 
sively. I  do  not  believe  that  there  is  a  single  family  living  in 
any  of  the  towns.  They  are  small  farmers  being  found  es- 
pecially as  tenants  on  the  estates  of  noblemen.  Through 
their  industry,  intelligence  and  experience  as  farmers  they 
have  become  expert  in  all  branches  of  agricultural  industry. 
This  circumstance  as  well  as  their  reliability  and  punctuality 
in  meeting  all  their  financial  obligations  have  made  them  much 
sought  after  by  noblemen  as  farmers  on  their  estates." 

"They   consented    with   reluctance   to   carry   the   tricolor 


FRANCE,  ALSACE  AND  LORRAINE  189 

cockade  when  that  was  made  a  duty.  When  they  greet  one 
they  take  off  their  hats,  but  like  the  Quakers  they  do  not  take 
an  oath  nor  bear  arms.  When  the  National  Convention  at- 
tempted to  compel  them  to  perform  military  duty  they  refused 
and  suggested  that  they  be  permitted  to  do  work  in  the  Quar- 
termaster department  instead,  which  was  granted  them  by 
the  Committee  of  Public  Safety.  Some  of  them  served  in  this 
capacity  rather  than  hire  substitutes.  To  their  credit  be  it 
said  that  unlike  many  others  they  pay  their  debts  not  in  worth- 
less assignats,  but  in  good  coin.  They  do  not  use  tobacco 
nor  play  cards.  To  music  and  art  they  are  strangers.  They 
do  not  go  to  law.  They  take  care  of  their  poor  and  come 
to  the  rescue  of  their  members  who  have  financial  reverses 
for  which  they  were  not  personally  responsible.  On  the  whole 
they  are  rather  illiterate,  but  honest,  temperate,  industrious 
and  of  good  moral  character." 

Since  the  above  was  written  the  Mennonites,  or  Amish 
rather,  of  these  regions  have  not  changed  a  great  deal.  They 
are  still  a  rural  people  although  some  are  entering  industrial 
and  business  life  in  the  towns,  and  as  they  do  so  they  are  drain- 
ing the  home  communities  of  prospective  leadership.  Mem- 
bers of  congregations  are  often  scattered  over  a  wide  terri- 
tory often  as  much  as  sixty  or  seventy  miles  apart.  In  many 
places  meetings  are  frequently  held  as  in  Switzerland  in  pri- 
vate houses,  where  worshippers  are  invited  to  remain  for  din- 
ner before  beginning  their  long  tramp  home.  Meetings  oc- 
cur only  every  two  or  three  and  sometimes  four  weeks  apart. 
Preachers  are  untrained,  unsalaried  and  are  elected  by  lot,  and 
are  of  the  usual  three  grades,  bishops,  ministers,  and  deacons. 
All  the  congregations  with  one  or  two  exceptions  practise 
feet-washing  with  the  communion  service.  Marriage  with 
outsiders  is  forbidden  and  punishable  by  excommunication. 
They  have  no  training  schools,  but  their  ministers  occasion- 
ally attend  the  missionary  training  school  at  St.  Crishona,  near 
Basel,  which  has  also  been  utilized  to  some  extent  by  the 
Mennonites  of  South   Germany  and  Russia.     Until   recently 


190  THE  MENNONITES 

the  Ausbund  was  still  the  accepted  song-book,  but  it  has  since 
been  replaced  by  more  up-to-date  hymnals.  The  Alsatian, 
Lotharingian  and  French  congregations  meet  annually  in  two 
separate  conferences.  The  French  have  also  a  separate  pa- 
per since  1901,  called  the  "Christseul."  Up  to  the  war  of  1870 
and  a  number  of  years  after,  the  German  language  was  in 
common  use  in  service  and  instruction  on  the  French  side  of 
the  border,  but  gradually  the  French  has  entirely  replaced 
the  German  which  has  also  cut  them  off  from  their  old  litera- 
ture and  hymn  books,  and  which  has  had  a  tendency  to  wi- 
den the  gap  which  the  political  events  of  1870  and  also  this  re- 
cent war  has  made  within  the  ranks  of  what  was  once  one 
people  with  a  common  history  and  ancestry. 

A  number  of  the  Alsatian  and  Lotharingian  settlements 
were  well  within  the  battle  zone  of  the  western  front.  The 
church  at  Saar  suffered  heavily  at  the  beginning  of  the  war. 
The  church  building  itself  was  demolished  and  among  the 
members  whose  farms  were  seriously  damaged  was  that  of 
Minister  Valentine  Pelsy.  Fortunately  for  these  congregations 
the  war  ended  before  the  battle  zone  in  the  Lorraine  sector 
had  advanced  very  far  toward  the  Rhine.  The  coming  peace 
convention  will  undoubtedly  restore  Alsace-Lorraine  to  France. 
That  will  unite  these  various  churches  once  more  under  one 
national  jurisdiction,  and  will  demand  certain  adjustments  to 
the  new  order  of  things. 

There  is  also  a  small  congregation  in  Luxemburg.  The 
Year  Book  of  1913  gives  a  congregation  of  one  hundred  and 
twenty  and  the  name  of  Nicholas  Nafziger  from  Liessem, 
near  Treves  as  the  elder. 


AMERICA 


FIRST  SETTLEMENTS  193 


CHAPTER  IX 

FIRST  SETTLEMENTS 

The  first  Mennonites  to  come  to  America  were  stray  Dutch 
traders  and  colonists,  who  accompanied  their  fellow  countrymen 
from  Holland  to  their  possessions  in  the  new  world  in  the  early 
days  when  New  York  was  still  New  Netherlands.  The  term 
Anabaptist,  undoubtedly  Mennonite,  is  frequently  found  in  the 
early  colonial  records  of  New  Netherlands.  The  term  Mennon- 
ite itself  is  found  first  in  a  report  of  the  religious  conditions  in 
the  first  Dutch  settlement  made  in  the  new  world  found  in  the 
writings  of  a  French  Jesuit  traveler,  Father  Jogues.  In  a  letter 
dated  1643,  describing  the  "Manhate"  settlement  he  enumerates 
among  the  religious  groups — "Calvinists,  Catholics,  English 
Puritans,  Lutherans  and  Anabaptists  here  called  Menists."  In  a 
later  document  "Menonists"  are  reported  at  Gravesend,  Long 
Island,  in  1657.  Beyond  these  hare  items,  however,  nothing  is 
known  concerning  these  first  comers  of  the  Mennonite  faith. 

A  few  years  later,  in  1663,  we  glean  a  few  more  scraps  of 
information  regarding  a  third  Dutch  Mennonite  colony  led  by 
the  social  reformer  Cornelis  Pieter  Plockhoy  or  Zeirik  Zee. 
Plockhoy  was  a  liberal  minded  Dutch  communist  of  Mennonite 
ancestry,  who  after  several  vain  attempts  to  interest  Cromwell 
and  the  English  Parliament  in  behalf  of  a  communistic  common- 
wealth composed  of  the  poor  to  be  established  somewhere  in  Eng- 
land or  Ireland,  finally  succeeded  in  securing  financial  aid  from 
the  city  of  Amsterdam  with  permission  to  establish  a  colony  of 
twenty-five  Mennonite  families  on  lands  recently  purchased  by 
the  city  along  the  Delaware  bay,  at  that  time  a  part  of  New 
Netherlands. 

According  to  a  pamphlet  written  by  Plockhoy  in  1662,  his 
7 


194  THE  MENNONITES 

proposed  colony  was  to  be  an  experiment  in  cooperation,  but 
only  partly  a  communistic  one.  Provisions  were  made  for  a 
large  colony.  All  the  future  settlers  were  to  live  in  common 
houses  accommodating  from  thirty  to  forty  people,  but  property 
was  not  to  be  held  in  common  except  for  the  first  three  years 
during  which  time  everyone  was  to  work  for  the  common  good 
and  live  from  a  common  store  house.  Education  was  to  be  free 
to  all,  while  religious  toleration  was  assured.  There  was  to  be  no 
state  church,  nor  taxation  for  the  support  of  a  religious  institu- 
tion. Denominationalism  was  discouraged  and  there  was  to  be 
but  one  house  of  worship.  To  insure  freedom  from  sectarian 
disputes  no  clergyman  was  to  be  permitted  to  locate  in  the  colony. 
Among  others  who  were  denied  admittance  were,  "Those  in  com- 
munion with  the  Roman  see ;  usurious  Jews  ;  English  stiff  necked 
Quakers;  Puritans,  foolhardy  believers  in  the  Millennium;  and 
obstinate  modern  pretenders  to  revelation."  Slavery  was  pro- 
hibited, and  those  having  conscientious  scruples  against  bearing 
arms  were  to  pay  a  special  tax  for  the  support  of  those  who 
entered  military  service. 

How  much  of  this  scheme  was  actually  put  into  practise  we 
do  not  know.  Our  information  regarding  the  history  of  the 
colony  is  scant.  We  do  know,  however,  that  the  good  ship  St. 
Jacob  sailed  from  Rotterdam  in  May  1663,  and  landed  a  few 
months  later  on  the  Horekill  near  where  it  empties  into  the  Dela- 
ware, leaving  there  forty-one  souls  with  baggage  and  farm  uten- 
sils. We  know  also  that  two  years  later  during  the  Dutch-Eng- 
lish war  an  English  expedition  sailed  up  the  Delaware,  plundering 
all  the  Dutch  settlements,  "also  that  belonging  to  the  Quaking 
society  of  Plockhoy,"  which  was  laid  waste  "to  a  very  nail." 
The  colonists  were  seized  and  dispersed,  but  what  became  of  them 
remains  a  mystery.  One  further  bit  of  information  exhausts  all 
that  has  thus  far  been  brought  to  light  regarding  this  Mennonite 
experiment.  Thirty  years  later,  in  1694,  Plockhoy,  now  blind  and 
penniless,  together  with  his  wife  found  his  way  to  Germantown, 
where  he  was  cared  for  at  public  expense  by  those  of  his  own 
faith  who  had  succeeded  better  than  he  in  securing  a  foothold  in 
the  new  world. 


FIRST  SETTLEMENTS  195 

The  first  permanent  Mennonite  colony  in  America  was  that 
established  at  Germantown,  Pennsylvania,  in  1683,  by  a  group  of 
Germans  of  Dutch  ancestry  from  the  town  of  Crefeld,  and  sur- 
rounding region  along  the  lower  Rhine  near  the  Dutch  border. 
This  colony  owed  its  existence  to  two  forces — religious  intoler- 
ance, and  Quaker  missionary  zeal. 

Mennonites  at  the  close  of  the  seventeenth  century  had  not 
yet  secured  entire  religious  liberty.  The  day  of  the  stake  and  the 
rack,  to  be  sure,  were  past,  but  even  in  Crefeld,  which  was  one  of 
the  most  liberal  of  German  cities  toward  religious  dissenters, 
they  were  still  compelled  to  erect  their  house  of  worship  in  a 
back  alley  in  order  that  they  might  not  attract  public  attention. 
Active  propaganda  was  forbidden.  Special  taxes  were  levied 
against  them.  Frequently  they  were  subjected  to  extortion  at 
the  hands  of  petty,  but  greedy  lords  upon  whose  estates  they 
lived.  The  Quakers  especially,  of  whom  there  were  now  several 
congregations  in  the  cities  along  the  lower  Rhine,  were  abused 
because  of  their  aggressive  efforts  in  extending  their  faith. 

Between  1655  and  1680  a  number  of  Quakers  from  England 
including  both  Fox  and  Penn  had  visited  Northwest  Germany 
and  Netherlands  repeatedly  in  the  interests  of  their  cause.  These 
were  especially  well  received  by  the  Mennonites  among  whom 
they  gained  a  number  of  Quaker  converts  in  Crefeld,  Kriesheim 
and  other  towns.  It  was  to  these  Mennonite-Quakers  and  their 
Mennonite  friends  and  relatives  that  Penn  first  made  his  appeal 
for  German  immigrants  to  his  newly  inherited  colony  of  Penn- 
sylvania. In  1682,  Jacob  Telner,  a  Mennonite  merchant  from 
Amsterdam,  who  had  visited  New  York  several  times  and  who 
was  acquainted  with  the  London  Quakers,  together  with  five 
other  Mennonites  from  Crefeld  and  surrounding  towns  purchased 
18,000  acres  of  land  in  Pennsylvania  for  the  purpose  of  founding 
a  colony.  About  the  same  time  too  a  group  of  Pietists  from 
Frankfort  on  the  Main,  under  the  leadership  of  Francis  Daniel 
Pastorious,  established  the  Frankfort  Land  Company  which  pur- 
chased 40,000  acres  north  and  west  of  Philadelphia.  It  was  from 
these  two  groups  that  actual  settlers  purchased  most  of  their 
land. 


196  THE  MENNONITES 

Soon  after,  on  October  6,  1683,  a  group  of  thirteen  families, 
Mennonites  and  Mennonite-Quakers,  from  Crefeld  and  the  sur- 
rounding region,  all  with  Dutch  names,  some  well  known  in  early 
Mennonite  history,  arrived  at  Philadelphia  on  board  the  ship 
Concord.  They  immediately  preceded  north  several  miles  to  a 
place  selected  for  them  by  Pastorious,  who  had  preceded  them  by 
several  months,  and  founded  Germantown,  not  only  the  first 
permanent  Mennonite,  but  the  first  German  colony  in  America. 

Francis  Daniel  Pastorious,  the  Pietist,  not  a  Mennonite,  the 
agent  of  the  Frankfort  Land  Company,  became  the  John  Smith 
of  the  new  colony.  Well  educated  in  law  and  the  classics,  held  in 
high  esteem  by  William  Penn,  aggressive  and  industrious,  he  was 
well  fitted  to  be  the  leader  of  the  new  enterprise.  When  German- 
town  became  a  corporation  in  1691,  he  was  elected  the  first  chief 
magistrate,  and  often  served  the  corporation  as  clerk.  His  later 
years  were  devoted  to  teaching  in  the  Germantown  Academy. 
Until  his  death  in  1719,  he  remained  the  leading  spirit  of  the 
settlement. 

These  first  Mennonite  and  Quaker  colonists  were  mostly 
mechanics  and  linen  weavers,  unlike  later  Mennonites  who  came 
to  America  "not  given  much  to  agriculture."  They  founded  a 
village,  cultivated  the  soil  on  a  small  scale  at  first,  but  soon 
turned  to  weaving  as  the  chief  industry.  Although  they  passed 
through  a  brief  period  of  hardships,  they  were  free  from  Indian 
dangers  and  disease  epidemics,  fatal  to  so  many  colonial  experi- 
ments. Soon  other  settlers  followed  these  first  thirteen  families, 
many  of  whom  located  on  the  lands  about  the  village.  By  1700 
the  following  family  names  including  the  first  comers  appear 
in  the  early  records — Op  den  Graf,  Lensen,  Streypers,  Lucken, 
van  Bebber,  Jansen,  Schumacher,  Kessel,  Keyser,  Rittinghuysen, 
Kunders,  Tyson,  Siemens,  Keurlis,  Bleikers,  Tunes,  Gotschalk, 
van  Sinteren,  Neus,  Engel,  Schlegel,  Graff,  etc. 

Mennonite  immigrants  to  Germantown  were  not  numerous. 
In  all  there  were  perhaps  not  more  than  fifty  families.  Later 
many  more  of  course  located  farther  west  at  Skippack  and 
Pequea.  After  1700,  however,  Germantown  became  the  nucleus 
of  a  large  settlement  of  non-Mennonites.     Especially  attractive 


FIRST  SETTLEMENTS  197 

was  the  colony  for  numerous  German  sects  and  religious  denomi- 
nations. In  Germantown  were  organized  not  only  the  first  Men- 
nonite,  and  the  first  and  perhaps  only  German  Quaker  congre- 
gation in  America,  but  also  the  first  Dunkard,  the  first  German 
Reformed,  German  Lutheran,  Moravian,  and  German  Methodist 
churches,  to  say  nothing  of  a  number  of  sects  never  heard  of 
before  this  side  of  the  Atlantic. 

By  1702  the  available  land  about  Germantown  had  all  been 
taken  up,  which  necessitated  the  establishing  of  a  second  Men- 
nonite  colony  along  the  Skippack  creek,  a  tributary  of  the 
Perkiomen,  about  thirty  miles  above  Germantown. 

Mennonites  and  Quakers  first  met  for  common  worship,  but 
as  new  immigrants  came  and  as  they  represented  different  de- 
nominations, the  religious  groups  began  to  separate  for  worship. 
By  1690,  the  Mennonites,  although  they  were  without  a  minis- 
ter, met  in  a  private  house  for  religious  instruction  consisting 
of  reading  by  one  of  their  number  from  a  book  of  sermons. 
William  Rittenhouse  who  arrived  in  1688  was  soon  after,  in  1690, 
elected  as  their  first  minister.  A  little  later,  in  1703,  he  was  also 
appointed  the  first  elder  of  the  congregation  upon  the  advice  and 
authorization  of  the  elder  and  ministers  of  the  church  at  Ham- 
burg, Germany.  In  1708  the  first  log  meeting  house  was  erected 
on  the  site  occupied  by  the  present  structure  on  Germantown 
avenue.  The  Mennonite  group  among  the  colonists  did  not 
grow  rapidly,  Germantown  being  passed  by  for  the  newer 
colonies  farther  west.  By  1712  there  was  a  membership  in  the 
two  congregations  of  Germantown  and  Skippack  of  ninety-nine, 
embracing  in  all  perhaps  a  Mennonite  population  of  about  two 
hundred. 

The  Germantown  Mennonites  not  only  formed  the  advance 
guard  of  the  German  immigration  to  America,  but  they  were 
pioneers  in  other  important  respects  also.  In  1688  they  issued 
the  first  public  protest  against  slavery  on  record  in  America, 
although  the  institution  had  also  been  forbidden  in  the  Plock- 
hoy  colony  in  1663.  To  the  German  Mennonites  the  holding  of 
slaves  ran  counter  to  both  their  racial  ideals  and  their  religious 
convictions.    The  English  Quakers  still  held  slaves.    It  was  for 


198  THE  MENNONITES 

the  purpose  of  showing  their  disapproval  of  the  practise  as  well 
as  for  the  purpose  of  fostering  German  immigration  that  a  group 
of  four  men  in  the  year  mentioned — Pastorious,  Lutheran  Piet- 
ist, Gerrit  Hendricks,  Mennonite,  Derick  Op  den  Graff,  Men- 
nonite-Quaker,  and  Abraham  his  brother,  first  Mennonite,  but 
later  Quaker  and  finally  free  lance,  sent  a  memorial  to  the  Qua- 
ker Monthly  Meeting  protesting  against  the  holding  of  slaves. 

"Those  who  hold  slaves  are  no  better  than  Turks,"  the  pro- 
test declares,  "for  we  have  heard  that  ye  most  part  of  such 
Negers  are  brought  hither  against  their  will  and  consent,  and 
that  many  of  them  are  stolen."  The  institution  was  also  cited 
in  Germany  evidently  as  an  argument  against  further  emigra- 
tion. "For"  the  protest  continues,  "this  makes  an  ill  report  in  all 
those  countries  of  Europe  where  they  hear  off,  that  ye  Quackers 
do  here  handel  men,  like  they  handel  there  ye  cattle  and  for  that 
reason  some  have  no  mind  or  inclination  to  come  hither." 

The  English  Quakers  were  not  ready  yet,  however,  to  cham- 
pion the  cause  of  absolute  freedom.  The  Monthly  Meeting 
deciding  the  matter  too  weighty  for  their  consideration  referred 
it  to  the  Quarterly  Meeting,  which  in  turn  avoided  the  subject 
by  passing  it  on  to  the  Annual  Meeting  where  no  further  action 
was  taken  on  the  matter. 

The  Germantown  colony  also  furnishes  us  an  interesting 
example  of  a  Mennonite  political  experiment.  In  1691  the  vil- 
lage was  incorporated  under  the  laws  of  the  Province  receiving 
a  special  charter.  The  form  of  government  provided  for  in  this 
first  Pennsylvania  borough  was  that  of  a  closed  corporation,  the 
corporate  members  being  granted  the  exclusive  right  of  the 
franchise,  of  legislation,  and  of  admitting  new  members  into  the 
corporation.  The  first  corporate  members  were  mostly  Men- 
nonites  and  Mennonite-Quakers,  who  maintained  control  of  the 
village  government  long  after  they  were  outnumbered  by  resi- 
dents who  did  not  share  their  religious  views,  nor  their  scruples 
against  the  use  of  force  in  maintaining  order.  So  long  as  vil- 
lage ordinances  and  local  litigation  concerned  itself  only  with 
stray  pigs  and  line  fences  there  was  little  difficulty  in  securing 
Mennonite  officials,  but  with  the  building  of  a  jail  and  the  intro- 


FIRST  SETTLEMENTS  199 

duction  of  stocks  and  the  whipping  post,  they  lost  their  desire 
for  office.  As  early  as  1701  Pastorius  complained  to  Penn  that 
he  found  it  increasingly  difficult  to  find  men  who  would  serve  in 
the  General  Court  for  "conscience  sake,"  and  hoped  for  relief 
from  the  arrival  of  new  immigrants.  Several  men  declined  to 
accept  offices  to  which  they  had  been  elected.  Finally  in  1707, 
the  village  lost  its  charter,  and  it  was  merged  for  political  pur- 
poses with  the  township  of  which  it  was  a  part.  The  Mennonites 
refused  to  hold  office,  but  at  the  same  time  retained  control  of 
the  franchise.  For  this  reason  we  have  here  the  unparalleled 
instance  of  a  corporation  losing  its  charter  because  no  one  could 
be  found  who  was  willing  to  hold  the  offices. 

The  remaining  history  of  the  Germantown  church  can  be 
dismissed  with  a  few  words.  Later  immigrants  as  we  saw 
passed  it  by  for  more  favorable  lands  elsewhere.  In  1770  the  old 
log  building  was  replaced  by  the  little  stone  structure  still  stand- 
ing. At  that  time  the  congregation  numbered  only  twenty-five. 
It  finally  became  extinct,  but  was  again  revived  in  1863,  under 
the  pastorate  of  F.  R.  S.  Hunsicker.  At  present  it  has  a  member- 
ship of  thirty-one,  and  is  affiliated  with  the  General  Conference 
branch  of  the  church.  Insignificant  as  its  later  history  may  have 
been  however,  yet  the  Germantown  settlement  exerted  no 
mean  influence  upon  the  church  at  large,  and  indirectly  upon  the 
civil  and  religious  history  of  Philadelphia  and  the  state  of  Penn- 
sylvania. In  the  house  of  van  Bebber  was  held  in  1690  the 
first  service  of  the  German  Lutheran  church  in  America,  and  at 
least  ten  of  the  present  churches  of  Philadelphia  including  one 
Evangelical,  two  Episcopal,  one  Presbyterian,  were  all  first  or- 
ganized in  the  little  Mennonite  meeting  house.  Many  of  these  also 
drew  heavily  upon  the  Mennonites  for  their  membership. 

In  the  list  of  names  prominent  in  the  industrial  and  political 
life  of  Pennsylvania  can  be  found  many  of  the  descendants  of  the 
first  Mennonite  settlers.  In  1690  William  Rittenhouse  built  on 
the  Wissahicon,  now  a  part  of  Fairmount  Park,  the  first  paper 
mill  in  America.  His  great-grandson,  David  Rittenhouse,  born  in 
1732,  became  a  celebrated  astronomer  of  his  day,  and  an  intimate 
friend  of  Thomas  Jefferson  and  Benjamin  Franklin.    He  became 


200  THE  MENNONITES 

a  prominent  member  of  the  Assembly  during  the  Revolutionary 
war  and  was  appointed  first  director  of  the  United  States  Mint 
by  George  Washington.  Among  recent  prominent  descendants 
of  the  first  Mennonites  was  the  later  Governor  Samuel  Penny- 
packer,  who  in  addition  to  his  political  activities  did  much  to 
create  an  interest  not  only  in  Mennonite  history,  but  also  in  that 
of  all  Pennsylvania  Germans. 


THE  SWISS  AND  GERMAN  PALATINES        201 


CHAPTER  X 

THE   SWISS   AND    GERMAN   PALATINES 

The  Germantown  colonists,  as  we  saw,  came  principally  from 
Northwest  Germany  and  were  of  Dutch  ancestry.  This  group, 
however,  was  small,  and  few  came  from  this  region  after  1700. 
A  much  larger  immigration  was  that  of  the  Swiss  and  German 
Palatines  during  the  first  half  of  the  eighteenth  century.  We  are 
here  concerned  only  with  the  Mennonites,  but  in  order  to  keep  the 
subject  of  our  sketch  within  proper  perspective,  we  need  to 
remember  that  during  this  time  tens  of  thousands  of  Palatines 
of  every  faith  known  in  Germany — Lutherans,  Reformed,  Cath- 
olics, Dunkards,  Schwenkfelders,  Moravians,  Baptists  and  Mys- 
tics, as  well  as  Mennonites  settled  in  Southeastern  Pennsylvania 
and  formed  the  basis  of  that  picturesque  element  of  the  Quaker 
state  population  commonly  known  as  the  Pennsylvania  Dutch. 

The  cause  of  this  immigrant  tide  was  mainly  economic 
pressure,  although  in  the  case  of  some,  religious  oppression  was 
a  contributing  factor.  During  the  early  eighteenth  century  there 
was  great  poverty  and  distress  throughout  the  Palatinate.  Dur- 
ing the  war  of  the  Palatinate  (1688-1697)  the  French  armies 
completely  devastated  the  country.  Several  severe  winters  soon 
after,  and  famine  added  to  the  distress.  Just  at  this  time,  too, 
came  an  urgent  invitation,  widely  published,  from  Queen  Anne 
of  England  to  settle  in  the  American  colonies.  The  climax  of 
distress  seems  to  have  been  reached  in  the  year  1709,  for  in  that 
year  a  sudden  emigration  fever  seems  to  have  seized  the  Palatines. 
Some  eight  or  ten  thousand  during  the  year  poured  into  England 
hoping  to  be  transported  to  America.  The  English  Government, 
surprised  at  this  sudden  inundation  of  Germans,  was  hardly  pre- 
pared to  care  for  them.  Most  of  them  were  induced  to  return  to 
Germany ;  some  were  settled  in  Ireland.    About  six  hundred  were 


202  THE  MENNONITES 

transported  to  the  Carolinas  where  Graffenreid  had  already  estab- 
lished a  Swiss  colony  at  New  Bern.  The  next  year  a  number 
were  sent  to  New  York.  Only  a  few  families  found  their  way  in 
this  year  to  Pennsylvania.  The  next  year,  however,  and  the  years 
following  the  latter  state  became  the  chief  objective  of  the  move- 
ment. The  Mennonites  who  formed  only  a  small  part  of  the 
immigration  tide  had  added  reason  for  leaving  the  Palatinate. 
While  the  larger  portion  of  the  settlers  were  Germans,  the  Men- 
nonites were  Swiss  exiles  who  had  been  forced  to  find  temporary 
homes  in  the  Palatinate  in  1671  and  the  years  following.  These 
were  still  living  under  annoying  and  oppressive  religious  restric- 
tions. 

The  first  Mennonite  Palatine  immigrants  joined  some  Ger- 
mantown  colonists  in  founding  the  Skippack  settlement  on  a 
tract  of  land  bought  by  Matthias  van  Bebber  in  the  year  1702,  in 
what  is  now  Perkiomen  township,  in  Montgomery  county.  Be- 
fore 1709,  however,  there  were  only  a  few  scattered  families. 
According  to  Penn,  in  that  year  six  Palatine  Mennonite  families 
left  London  for  Pennsylvania,  but  where  they  settled  is  uncertain, 
undoubtedly  on  the  Skippack,  however.  This  initial  colony  ex- 
panded during  the  next  fifty  years  by  natural  increase  and  by  ad- 
ditions from  Germany  until  it  formed  a  Mennonite  community  on 
both  sides  of  the  Skippack  creek  ten  miles  wide  extending  north 
through  the  north  central  part  of  Montgomery  county,  the  west- 
ern part  of  Bucks  county,  a  small  section  of  eastern  Berks  and 
Lehigh  counties,  southern  Northampton  and  included  also  a  few 
scattered  settlements  in  Chester  county.  By  the  time  of  the 
Revolutionary  war  the  following  congregations,  nearly  all  still 
in  existence  were  formed : 

"Schiebach,  Indian  Krik  (Franconia),  to  which  belong  also 
Salford  Rokkil  and  Schwammen,  Deep  Ron  (to  which  belong 
Berkosen  on  the  Delaware  and  Aufrieds),  Blen,  Grooten  Swamb, 
(to  which  belong  Socken  and  Lower  Milford),  Hosenok,  Lehay, 
and  Term,  Matetschen,  Schuylkil." 

Among  the  prevailing  Mennonite  family  names  in  their 
modern  spelling  are  the  following:  Funk,  Stauffer,  Gotschall, 
Ziegler,  Clemmer  or  Clymer,  Roth,  Bechtel,  Boyer,  Moyer,  Ber- 


THE  SWISS  AND  GERMAN  PALATINES        203 

gey,  Detweiler,  Huffman,  Gehman,  Bauman,  Kolb,  Pennypacker, 
Frey,  Showalter,  Kratz,  Oberholtzer,  Longenecker,  Yoder,  Hun- 
sicker,  Alderfer,  Wambold,  Haldeman,  Fretz,  High,  Geisinger, 
Geil,  Benner,  Hiestand,  Souder,  Allabach,  Beidler,  etc. 

An  early  Mennonite  Palatine  settlement  was  made  in  North 
Carolina  which  was  still  in  existence  in  1773,  but  of  which  little 
is  known  since. 

By  far  the  largest  and  most  important  of  the  early  Palatine 
colonies,  however,  was  the  one  established  by  the  Swiss  Men- 
nonites  on  the  Pequea  creek,  a  tributary  of  the  Susquehanna  in 
what  is  now  Lancaster  county.  These  pioneers  who  founded  the 
first  white  settlement  in  the  region  of  the  fertile  Susquehanna 
were  mostly  of  such  Swiss  as  had  been  driven  into  the  Palatinate 
in  1671  and  the  years  following.  The  Swiss  exiles  of  1709  and 
1710  were  not  among  the  earliest  comers,  although  later  many  of 
these  found  their  way  into  Pennsylvania  also. 

This  pioneer  group  consisted  of  ten  men,  "Switzers,  lately 
arrived  in  the  Province"  to  whom  Penn  gave  in  1710  a  warrant 
for  10,000  acres  of  land  situated  "on  the  northwesterly  side  of  a 
hill  twenty  miles  easterly  from  Conestoga  near  the  head  of  the 
Perquin  creek.  The  consideration  for  the  entire  tract  was  five 
hundred  pounds  sterling  money,  and  one  shilling  quitrent  annu- 
ally for  every  hundred  acres.  The  region  was  "a  rich  limestone 
country,  beautifully  adorned  with  sugar  maple,  hickory,  and 
black  and  white  walnut  on  the  border  of  a  delightful  stream 
abounding  in  the  finest  trout." 

The  first  settlers  were  evidently  well  pleased  with  their  sur- 
roundings, for  early  the  next  spring  (1711)  they  sent  one  of  their 
number,  Martin  Kendig,  back  to  the  Palatinate  to  urge  their 
poverty-stricken  and  oppressed  friends  and  relatives  to  join  them 
in  their  new  home.  Kendig  returned  the  same  year  with  a  number 
of  new  families,  and  during  the  next  fifty  years  hundreds  of  Men- 
nonite families  from  the  Palatinate — Swiss  and  South  Germans — • 
were  added  to  the  original  Pequea  colony.  For  during  all  these 
years  the  Palatines  remained  poor  in  Germany  and  suffered  cer- 
tain religious  restrictions  in  their  native  land.  Their  distress  was 
continually  aggravated  too,  by  the  continued   arrival   of   fresh 


204  THE  MENNONITES 

exiles  from  Switzerland.  These  conditions  together  with  the  invi- 
tation of  the  king  of  England,  himself  a  German,  to  settle  in 
Pennsylvania,  as  well  as  the  repeated  invitation  of  relatives 
already  here  were  responsible  for  the  steady  stream  of  immi- 
grants who  came  to  Pennsylvania  during  the  next  half  century. 
Although  a  few  of  the  pioneers  were  men  of  means,  the  great 
majority  were  too  poor  to  pay  their  passage  money  across.  The 
Dutch  Mennonites  of  Amsterdam  organized  a  "Committee  of 
Foreign  Needs"  to  help  their  needy  Swiss  and  Palatine  brethren. 
By  1732  over  three  thousand  had  asked  for  assistance  many  of 
whom  were  given  aid.  Among  the  Germans  themselves  who  were 
active  in  behalf  of  their  poor  were  two  elders,  Benedict  Brecht- 
buhl  and  Hans  Burghalter,  who  were  untiring  in  their  efforts  to 
relieve  distress  and  in  enlisting  the  aid  through  many  letters  of 
the  Dutch  Mennonites  in  behalf  of  those  of  their  number  who 
needed  help.  Both  of  these  names  are  common  today  in  Lan- 
caster county.  Burghalter  was  for  many  years  a  minister  in  the 
Geroldsheim  church  in  the  Palantinate  where  he  died  at  a  ripe 
old  age  in   1752. 

The  year  1717,  was  one  of  exceptionally  heavy  immigration, 
for  many  besides  Mennonites  were  now  coming  to  Southeastern 
Pennsylvania,  although  the  pioneer  Pequea  colony  remained 
largely  Mennonite.  This  settlement  expanded  until  ultimately  the 
Mennonites  occupied  nearly  all  of  present  rural  Lancaster  county, 
with  some  scattered  settlements  along  the  edges  of  the  neighbor- 
ing counties.  By  1727  so  many  Germans  had  come  to  Pennsyl- 
vania that  the  English  Provincial  authorities  became  alarmed  lest 
the  Germans  completely  dominate  the  political  and  social  life  of 
the  Province.  To  discourage  further  immigration  a  law  was 
passed  in  the  above  year  levying  a  head  tax  upon  every  immi- 
grant, and  compelling  every  ship  captain  to  submit  a  complete 
list  of  all  new  arrivals  after  that  date. 

As  to  the  exact  number  of  Mennonites  who  came  to  Penn- 
sylvania during  the  eighteenth  century  most  estimates  are  too 
large.  The  estimate  of  100,000  Germans  all  told  may  not  be 
much  out  of  the  way,  but  of  these  the  Mennonites  formed  a  very 
small  part.    The  entire  number  was  certainly  not  over  two  thou- 


THE  SWISS  AND  GERMAN  PALATINES        205 

sand  families,  and  likely  considerably  below  that. 

By  the  time  of  the  Revolutionary  war  which  marked  the  end 
of  this  period  of  German  and  Mennonite  immigration  the  fol- 
lowing family  names  were  common  in  Lancaster  county — Ken- 
dig,  Miller,  Graff,  Herr,  Overholt,  Bowman,  Schantz,  Weber, 
Brenneman,  Hershey,  Brubaker,  Baer,  Lehman,  Witmer,  Funk, 
Shenk,  Landes,  Huber,  Kaufman,  Kreider,  Boehm,  Eby,  Brack- 
bill,  Burkholder,  Stemen,  Frick,  Erisman,  Newcommer,  Neff, 
Boyer,  Erb,  Reist,  Hess,  Bookwalter,  Nissly,  Snavely,  Good, 
Beyer,  Musselman,  Meylin,  Martin,  Root,  Ebersole,  Wenger, 
Eschleman,  Shellenberger,  Mellinger,  Bamberger,  Risser,  Schertz, 
etc. 

The  Pequea  settlement  was  in  the  heart  of  the  Indian  coun- 
try. For  a  time  Mennonites  and  Indians  lived  on  friendly  terms, 
and  their  children  often  played  together.  But  as  the  settlement 
grew,  the  Indians  moved  farther  west,  and  during  the  later 
colonial  wars  the  entire  frontier  from  Pennsylvania  through  to 
the  Virginia  settlements  often  suffered  from  Indian  raids.  In 
1758  a  letter  written  by  several  Mennonite  ministers  to  Holland 
asking  for  financial  help  states  that  two  hundred  families  in 
Pennsylvania  had  been  robbed  of  their  property  by  the  Indians 
and  fifty  persons  had  been  killed.  Among  these  were  some  Men- 
nonites and  Amish. 

According  to  the  laws  of  Pennsylvania  only  the  English  and 
naturalized  non-English  could  bequeathe  and  inherit  property. 
Since  naturalization  could  be  secured  only  by  a  special  act  of  the 
Assembly  upon  petition,  German  Mennonites  frequently  found  it 
difficult  to  become  fullfledged  citizens.  The  Germantown  Men- 
nonites were  naturalized  in  a  body  in  1709.  No  Lancastrians 
were  naturalized  until  1729,  and  then  only  after  years  of  petition- 
ing. This  act  did  not  apply  to  the  Amish,  who  had  to  petition 
separately  in  1742.  After  the  latter  year  a  general  act  was 
passed  covering  all  aliens  and  special  petitions  were  no  longer 
necessary. 

As  just  noted,  the  Palatine  Mennonites  were  with  a  few 
exceptions  mostly  of  the  poorer  classes  and  many  did  not  have 
sufficient  means  to  pay  their  passage  across  the  Atlantic.    Such 


206  THE  MENNONITES 

as  did  not  receive  sufficient  help  from  the  Dutch  relief  committee 
were  forced  to  seek  means  elsewhere.  It  was  the  practise  in 
those  days  for  poor  emigrants  to  sell  their  services  for  a  number 
of  years  to  the  ship  captain  in  return  for  free  passage.  Such 
labor  then  the  captain  could  dispose  of  as  he  saw  fit.  Usually 
it  was  sold  at  public  auction  to  the  highest  bidder  when  the  ship 
arrived  at  Philadelphia.  The  term  of  service  for  an  adult  was 
usually  four  or  five  years,  while  a  minor  served  until  twenty-one 
years  of  age.  Persons  thus  serving  for  their  passage  were  called 
Redemptioners.  Many  of  the  Pennsylvania  immigrants,  includ- 
ing not  a  few  Mennonites,  were  of  this  class. 

The  passage  across  the  Atlantic  was  long  and  frequently 
hazardous.  In  fair  weather  and  under  normal  conditions  ten  or 
twelve  weeks  was  sufficient  for  the  voyage,  and  suffering  was 
not  great,  but  in  case  of  contrary  winds  and  storms,  ships  would 
often  be  driven  far  out  of  their  course.  The  death  rate  especially 
in  case  of  small  children  was  often  high.  In  1732  the  ship  John 
and  William  left  Rotterdam  with  two  hundred  and  twenty  pas- 
sengers, including  a  number  of  Mennonites.  The  ship  was  seven- 
teen weeks  on  the  way,  and  forty-four  passengers  died  enroute. 
In  the  same  year  another  ship  from  Rotterdam  bound  for  Phila- 
delphia landed  at  Marthas  Vineyard  Island  after  a  voyage  cover- 
ing twenty-four  weeks.  Provisions  became  short.  The  passengers 
had  no  bread  for  eight  weeks.  So  great  was  their  hunger  that  they 
scoured  the  ship  for  vermin.  A  rat  was  rated  at  eighteen  pence  by 
the  hungry  castaways  and  a  mouse  at  six  pence.  Seven  persons 
died  of  starvation  in  one  night.  Of  the  one  hundred  and  fifty  pas- 
sengers that  left  Rotterdam  only  fifty  survived,  one  hundred  hav- 
ing starved  on  the  way.  The  next  year  the  ship  Experiment  left 
with  one  hundred  and  eighty  passengers  and  arrived  at  New  York 
with  only  eighty  on  board. 

These  were  exceptional  cases  of  course,  but  even  at  best  a 
voyage  across  the  ocean  in  those  days  was  a  matter  requiring 
great  courage.  Added  to  these  hazards  beyond  human  control 
were  others  due  to  the  greed  of  ship  owners.  Often  greedy  cap- 
tains would  overcrowd  their  ships,  furnish  poor  food  and  by 
failing  to  provide  proper  sanitation  greatly  increase  the  death 


THE  SWISS  AND  GERMAN  PALATINES        207 

toll.  Gottlieb  Mittelberger,  who  arrived  in  1750,  wrote  a  book 
describing  conditions  on  the  immigrant  ships  in  the  hope  of  alle- 
viating the  worst  conditions.  Thirty-two  died  on  his  ship. 
Among  the  breeders  of  disease  on  shipboard  he  mentioned  "foul 
water  full  of  worms,  salted  food,  biscuits  full  of  worms  and 
spiders,  damp,  heat,  hunger,  lice  so  thick  that  they  had  to  be 
scraped  off."  Warm  food  was  furnished  only  three  times  each 
week,  he  said,  and  children  under  seven  usually  died  from  hunger, 
thirst  and  itch.  The  Pennsylvania  Assembly  finally  passed  laws 
specifying  the  number  of  passengers  that  could  be  placed  on 
board  ship,  and  regulating  the  quality  of  food  and  sanitary  con- 
ditions in  general.  For  a  long  time  too,  strict  quarantines  were 
maintained  to  prevent  sick  passengers  from  spreading  contagious 
diseases  in  the  Provinces  contracted  on  board  ship  due  to  unsan- 
itary conditions. 

The  Pequea  and  Skippack  Mennonites  were  of  the  small 
farmer  class  in  their  Swiss  and  Palatine  homes,  and  here  too,  they 
became  tillers  of  the  soil  exclusively,  avoiding  the  towns  and 
cities  as  they  developed  later.  It  was  the  relatively  few  Scotch 
Irish  and  English  who  organized  and  named  the  townships,  cities 
and  other  civil  units.  Although  the  Mennonites  founded  the  first 
settlement  in  Lancaster  county  and  later  absorbed  nearly  the 
entire  county,  there  are  few  names  on  the  map  outside  of  a 
number  of  cross  roads  post-offices  which  would  indicate  a  Ger- 
manic origin.  Lancaster  city  was  founded  by  the  English  settlers 
and  developed  into  one  of  the  most  influential  towns  of  the  day. 
It  was  seriously  considered  by  the  first  Congress  as  the  permanent 
Federal  Capital.  A  Geography  of  1816  calls  it  the  largest  inland 
city  in  America.  Although  the  city  is  full  of  the  descendants  of 
the  pioneer  settlers  it  was  only  within  recent  years  that  members 
of  the  church  organized  a  congregation  there.  There  is  today 
within  the  county  a  Mennonite  population,  including  all  the  fami- 
lies, of  about  twenty-five  thousand. 

There  was  little  organized  church  life  among  the  Mennon- 
ites. Each  congregation  was  a  unit  to  itself.  Occasionally  mat- 
ters of  common  concern,  however,  required  united  action.  In 
1727,  a  conference  of  all  the  Pennsylvania  congregations  was 


208  THE  MENNONITES 

held,  just  where  is  not  known,  to  consider  among-  other  matters 
an  English  translation  of  their  Confession  of  Faith.  The  fol- 
lowing ministers  and  congregations  were  represented  at  that 
meeting : 

Skippack — Jacob  Gotschalk,  Henry  Kolb,  Claes  Jansen, 
Michael  Ziegler. 

Germantown — John  Gorgeas,  John  Conerads,  Claes  Ritting- 
hausen. 

Conestoga — Hans  Burghalter,  Christian  Heer,  Benedict 
Hirschi,  Martin  Baer,  Johannes  Bowman. 

Great  Swamp — Velte  Clemer. 

Manatant — Daniel  Longenecker,  Jacob  Begthley. 

Frequent,  but  irregular  conferences  were  held  later.  By 
1844  Christian  Herr,  a  local  historian  writes :  "The  Mennonite 
congregations  in  Pennsylvania  are  divided  into  three  general 
circuits  within  each  of  which  semi-annual  conferences  consist- 
ing of  bishops,  elders  or  ministers  and  deacons  are  held  for  the 
purpose  of  consulting  each  other  and  devising  means  to  advance 
the  spiritual  prosperity  of  the  members." 

Among  the  Palatines  were  a  number  of  peace  sects  having 
much  in  common  with  the  Mennonites.  Among  these  were  the 
Dunkards,  who  had  their  origin  in  Germany  in  1708  and  moved 
bodily  to  Germantown  in  1719.  They  followed  the  Mennonites 
to  their  Skippack  and  Pequea  settlements  where  their  proselyting 
zeal  gained  a  number  of  adherents  to  their  faith.  Conrad  Beisel, 
one  of  their  number,  withdrew  from  them  in  1728  and  founded 
at  Ephrata  the  Seventh  Day  Baptist  monastic  community.  The 
old  community  house  where  the  brethren  lived  monk  fashion  in 
their  cells  is  still  standing,  a  venerable  old  reminder  of  the  good 
old  days  long  past.  Several  of  the  early  Mennonite  pioneers  were 
drawn  into  this  movement.  The  attempt  of  Count  Zinsendorf 
to  unite  all  the  Pennsylvania  Palatines  into  one  church  did  not 
seriously  affect  the  Mennonites.  Some  of  them,  however,  were 
won  to  the  Wesleyan  revival  which  struck  Pennsylvania  during 
the  latter  quarter  of  the  century.  Among  them  was  Martin 
Boehm,  Mennonite  bishop  at  Willow  street,  who  together  with 
Otterbein,  a  Reformed  minister,  founded  the  United  Brethren 


THE  SWISS  AND  GERMAN  PALATINES        209 

church,  but  who  later  also  became  one  of  the  pioneer  Methodist 
preachers  in  Pennsylvania. 

About  the  same  time,  too,  Jacob  Engel,  Mennonite,  be- 
came the  founder  of  the  River  Brethren. 

The  Mennonites  were  not  a  proselyting  people,  nor  were  they 
active  in  the  spreading  of  their  propaganda.  Consequently  al- 
though they  lost  large  numbers  to  other  churches  they  scarcely 
ever  gained  any  in  return. 

One  of  the  chief  reasons  for  the  loss  of  membership,  chiefly 
among  the  younger  people,  was  the  ultra  conservatism  of  the 
great  mass  of  the  Pennsylvania  churches.  Large,  compact  com- 
munities maintained  a  much  stronger  spirit  of  conservatism  than" 
did  the  smaller,  more  open  daughter  colonies  established  in  the 
States  farther  west.  Lancaster  county  with  some  seventy  congre- 
gation of  Old  Mennonites  and  several  other  groups  of  conserva- 
tive branches  totaling  a  population  of  perhaps  some  twenty- 
five  thousand  souls,  is  still  reluctant  to  afnlitate  upon  terms  of 
equality  even  with  other  congregations  of  its  own  branch  of  the 
denomination  in  the  western  States.  Had  the  Pennsylvania  Men- 
nonites been  as  able  to  hold  their  young  people  in  the  church  as 
have  the  Russians  they  ought  to  have  a  membership  of  at  least 
several  hundred  thousand  today. 

An  interesting  question  for  study   in  connection  with  the 
daily  life  of  the  Pennsylvania  Mennonites  is  that  of  their  lan- 
guage, the  so-called  Pennsylvania  Dutch.    This  dialect  which  is 
not  peculiar  to  the  Mennonites,  but  common  to  all  Pennsylvania 
Germans  is  a  modification  of  the  South  German  dialects  mixed 
with  an  occasional  English  word.     The  following  extract  from 
Harbaugh's — "Heemweh"  illustrates  the  language  once  common 
among  the  Mennonites  of  Southeastern  Pennsylvania  in  the  home 
and  pulpit,  and  still  the  prevailing  tongue  in  some  parts,  over  two 
hundred  years  since  it  was  first  introduced : 
"Ich  wees  net,  soil  ich  nei'  ins  Haus, 
Ich  zitter  an  d'r  Dheer 
Es  is  woll  alles  voll  inseid 
Und  doch  is  alles  leer, 
'S  net  meh  heem  wie's  eemol  war, 


210  THE  MENNONITES 

Un  kann's  ah  nimme  sei : 
Was  naus  mit  unsere  Eltere  geht 

Kummt  ewig  nimme  nei' 
Die  Friede  hat  der  Dodt  gearnt 

Das  Trauerdheel  is  mei." 
As  just  intimated  with  the  exception  of  the  more  liberal 
General  Conference  wing  of  the  church  in  recent  years,  the  Penn- 
sylvania congregations  were  not  able  to  hold  many  of  their 
talented  young  men  in  the  church.  This  does  not  mean,  however, 
that  they  were  less  capable  than  other  people  if  they  were  given 
a  chance.  Hundreds  of  young  men  went  out  into  the  world  to  try 
their  fortunes,  and  succeeded.  A  long  list  of  American  College 
Presidents  and  University  Professors,  Congressmen,  Judges, 
Literary  men  and  Captains  of  Industry  have  had  a  Pennsylvania 
Mennonite  ancestry,  but  they  did  not  remain  with  their  faith. 


EXPANSION  OF  PEQUEA  COLONY     211 


CHAPTER  XI. 

EXPANSION  OF  THE  PEQUEA  COLONY 

(1709-1800) 

Before  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  the  best  lands 
of  Southeastern  Pennsylvania  had  been  occupied  by  the  German 
and  Scotch  Irish  immigrants.  Consequently  the  children  of  the 
pioneers  as  well  as  later  immigrants  were  forced  to  push  the 
frontier  line  of  settlements  up  the  river  valleys  into  the  interior 
of  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia.  In  the  very  front  of  this  advancing 
tide  were  usually  found  a  number  of  Mennonites  who  settled  in 
small  colonies  far  out  on  the  frontier  where  land  was  cheap,  and 
where  room  for  expansion  was  ample. 

Before  the  French  and  Indian  war,  Lancaster  county  Men- 
nonites, following  the  advancing  tide  of  settlements  planted 
colonies  across  the  Susquehanna  in  York  county,  and  then 
through  the  Cumberland  valley  in  Cumberland  and  Franklin 
counties,  Pennsylvania,  and  Washington  county,  Maryland.  In 
the  latter  region  they  were  numerous  enough  by  1776  to  demand 
some  recognition  upon  their  refusal  to  bear  arms  during  the 
Revolutionary  war  from  the  state  convention,  which  was  then 
drafting  a  new  constitution. 

The  Cumberland  valley  leads  into  the  beautiful  Shenandoah 
of  Virginia.  Here  at  Massenutin  along  the  South  Fork  of  the 
Shenandoah  near  what  is  now  Luray,  in  Page  county,  in  1729, 
in  the  very  first  German  settlement  in  the  valley,  were  found  a 
few  Lancaster  county  Mennonites.  In  a  few  years  they  formed 
the  largest  contingent  of  the  Germans  in  that  pioneer  settlement, 
although  there  were  perhaps  never  more  than  several  dozen 
families  in  that  place.  These  settlements  in  Page  county  were 
never  prosperous,  and  have  long  since  become  extinct.  During 
the  French  and  Indian  war  the  Indians  made  raids  into  the 


212  THE  MENNONITES 

valley,  and  carried  off  many  of  the  settlers.  In  one  of  these  raids, 
in  1766,  John  Rhodes,  a  Mennonite  minister,  his  wife,  three  sons 
and  two  daughters  were  killed  by  the  Indians,  and  a  surviving 
son  was  carried  away  who  after  three  years  of  captivity  returned 
to  his  friends.  Many  families  were  compelled  to  return  to  Penn- 
sylvania during  these  times.  This  colony,  too,  was  located  in 
what  was  called  the  Northern  Neck,  a  region  to  which  Lord 
Fairfax  for  many  years  tried  to  establish  a  private  claim.  During 
this  controversy  many  of  the  settlers,  including  the  Mennonites, 
feeling  themselves  insecure  in  their  land  titles  moved  farther  up 
into  the  valley  in  what  is  now  Rockingham  and  Augusta  coun- 
ties. By  about  1800,  the  Mennonites  had  occupied  the  greater 
part  of  the  Linville  valley,  which  embraced  the  region  extending 
from  Linville  creek  on  the  east  to  the  North  Mountain  on  the 
west,  and  the  Shenandoah  on  the  north,  to  Linville  and  Singers 
Glen  on  the  south,  a  district  about  ten  miles  long  by  eight  miles 
wide.  After  1780,  however,  when  Harrisonburg  was  founded  as 
the  county  seat  of  the  newly  organized  Rockingham  county,  many 
of  the  Linville  settlers  located  west  of  the  new  town,  where  a 
large  community  has  since  developed. 

The  Virginia  Mennonites  were  the  only  members  of  their 
faith  within  the  late  slaveholding  Confederacy.  To  their  credit 
be  it  said  that,  true  to  their  religious  principles,  they  never  held 
slaves.  As  late  as  1864,  at  a  time  when  it  took  great  courage  in 
the  South  to  oppose  the  institution,  they  went  on  record  in  a 
conference  resolution  to  the  following  effect : 

"Decided  that  inasmuch  as  it  is  against  our  creed  and  disci- 
pline to  own  or  traffic  in  slaves,  so  it  is  also  forbidden  a  brother 
to  hire  a  slave  unless  such  slave  be  entitled  to  receive  the  pay  for 
such  labor  by  the  consent  of  the  owner.  But  where  neighbors 
exchange  labor,  the  labor  of  slaves  may  be  received." 

It  is  needless  to  say  that  this  traditional  opposition  to  both 
slavery  and  war  brought  upon  them  serious  trouble  during  the 
Civil  war,  but  these  experiences  are  related  elsewhere  in  this  book. 

During  the  first  half  of  the  last  century  the  Virginia  Men- 
nonites developed  considerable  interest  in  literary  activities. 
Among  the  early  Virginia  families  were  the  Funks.    One  of  these, 


EXPANSION  OF  PEQUEA  COLONY  213 

Joseph  Funk,  did  much  for  the  music  and  literary  interests  of 
the  church.  He  was  a  school  teacher,  and  also  a  publisher  of 
Mennonite  and  music  books.  In  1832  he  compiled  a  book  of 
sacred  melodies  called  "Harmonia  Sacra,"  which  had  a  wide  cir- 
culation not  only  through  Virginia,  but  throughout  the  Mennon- 
ite church  at  large.  It  went  through  seventeen  editions,  the  last 
one  appearing  in  the  latter  seventies  of  the  past  century.  In  1837 
he  also  translated  and  published  the  so-called  "Long"  Confession 
of  Faith  of  thirty-three  articles  found  in  the  Martyrs'  Mirror, 
together  with  "Nine  Reflections"  by  Bishop  Peter  Burkholder. 

In  the  meantime  the  tide  of  settlement  had  ascended  the 
Susquehanna  and  Juniata.  In  1772  John  Graybil  from  Lancaster 
county  began  a  colony  on  the  Mahantago  in  Snyder  county,  near 
what  is  now  Richfield.  A  few  small  communities  were  estab- 
lished in  Juniata  county  also.  A  little  later  a  large  settlement 
of  Amish  was  made  in  Mifflin  county.  About  the  same  time,  too, 
in  1767,  Christian  Blauch  founded  a  Mennonite  settlement  near 
the  headwaters  of  the  Ohio  river.  By  1800  large  colonies  of  both 
Amish  and  Mennonites  were  found  in  Fayette  and  Westmore- 
land counties,  and  scattered  settlements  in  Cambria,  Blair,  Cen- 
ter, Clearfield  and  Butler  counties. 

By  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century  then  the  Mennonites 
of  the  southeastern  Pennsylvania  had  appeared  in  the  fertile 
valleys  of  interior  Pennsylvania,  Maryland  and  Virginia.  Few 
new  communities  have  been  established  in  these  three  states 
since  then.  With  the  opening  up  of  the  Northwest  Territory, 
however,  these  pioneer  settlements  became  in  turn  mother  com- 
munities of  many  congregations  organized  early  in  the  next 
century  in  Ohio,  Indiana,  and  Illinois. 


214  THE  MENNONITES 


CHAPTER  XII 


THE  AMISH 


The  European  origin  of  the  Amish  branch  of  the  church  has 
been  related  elsewhere,  and  needs  no  repetition  here.  Just  when 
the  first  Amish  came  to  America  is  not  certain,  but  it  is  quite 
likely  that  a  few  stray  members  of  the  faith  were  to  be  found 
among  the  earliest  Palatine  immigrants.  According  to  a  letter 
written  by  Penn  in  1709,  among  the  Palatine  immigrants  of  that 
year  were  "divers  Mennonists,"  who  may  have  been  Amish. 
Among  the  Bernese  exiles  of  1711,  some  of  whom  soon  after 
came  to  Pennsylvania,  were  a  number  of  Amish,  although  no 
Amish  names  appear  in  the  records  before  1715.  From  1727  on, 
however,  the  time  when  complete  lists  were  required  of  all  ship 
captains,  such  names  are  frequently  found  among  the  ship  pas- 
senger lists.  In  that  year  there  arrived,  among  others,  Jacob 
Mast,  Peter  Zug  and  Ulrich  Pitscha.  Between  1727  and  1750 
familiar  names  are  numerous,  only  a  few  of  which  can  be  men- 
tioned here.  In  1742  Moritz  Zug  and  his  two  brothers,  John  and 
Christian,  founders  of  a  long  line  of  Zooks,  arrived  at  Philadel- 
phia on  the  Francis  Elizabeth.  In  1744,  among  others,  came 
Peter  Jutzy,  Jacob  Hartzler,  founder  of  another  numerous  Amish 
family,  came  in  1749,  followed  the  next  year  by  the  Blauch 
brothers,  Christian  and  Hans,  and  by  Andreas  Floelly.  Nicholas 
Stolzfus  landed  at  Philadelphia  in  1766,  and  Peter  Bietch  in  1767. 
Familiar  names  appear  in  these  passenger  lists  as  late  as  the 
Revolutionary  war,  after  which  Palatine  immigration  practically 
ceased. 

Just  where  these  earliest  immigrants  first  located  is  not 
quite  certain,  but  one  of  the  very  earliest  congregations  was  to 
be  found  in  the  northwest  corner  of  present  Berks  county,  along 
North  Kill  creek.     By  1742  this  community  was  strong  enough 


THE  AMISH  215 

to  petition  the  Provincial  Assembly  for  exemption  from  the  oath 
in  naturalization,  a  privilege  which  was  granted  by  the  Assembly. 
Another  early  community  was  established  in  Lancaster  county 
at  the  headwaters  of  the  Conestoga.  From  these  two  original 
communities,  other  settlements  were  made  near  by.  Not  many  are 
left  now  in  Berks  county,  but  in  Lancaster  there  is  still  a  com- 
munity of  something  over  twelve  hundred  members.  The  entire 
European  immigration  could  not  have  been  large,  as  is  shown 
by  the  comparatively  small  number  of  family  names  among  the 
Pennsylvania  Amish  and  their  descendants  today.  The  following 
list  in  their  modern  spelling  is  nearly  all  inclusive,— Yoder,  Zook, 
Mast,  Plank,  Stolzfus,  Stutsman,  Hooly,  Beiler,  Koenig,  Beechy, 
Miller,  Hostetler,  Kaufman,  Jutzi,  Troyer,  Umble,  Gnaegi,  Hartz- 
ler,  Lapp,  Hershberger,  Smucker  and  a  few  others. 

From  these  two  pioneer  settlements  all  the  later  colonies  in 
Pennsylvania — in  Somerset,  Westmoreland,  Mifflin,  and  Juniata 
counties  were  made,  and  indirectly  many  more  in  Ohio,  Indiana, 
Illinois,  Iowa  and  other  western  States. 

The  Amish  do  not  seem  to  have  followed  the  Mennonites 
and  other  Germans  south  into  the  Shenandoah  valley.  The  first 
colony  to  leave  the  home  community  seems  to  have  crossed  the 
Alleghanies  into  southwestern  Pennsylvania.  Soon  after  the 
French  and  Indian  war,  a  number  of  settlers  from  Berks,  Chester 
and  Lebanon  counties  located  in  what  is  now  Somerset  county. 
Jacob  and  Christian  Blauch,  who  undoubtedly  were  Amishmen, 
located  on  government  land  in  what  is  now  Conemaugh  township 
as  early  as  1767.  They  were  followed  by  a  number  of  others 
before  the  Revolutionary  war.  Before  the  close  of  the  century 
the  largest  of  all  the  Berks  and  Lancaster  county  daughter 
colonies  were  founded  in  the  beautiful  Kishocoquillas  valley  in 
what  is  now  Mifflin  county.  This  narrow,  beautiful  and  fertile 
valley,  hemmed  in  on  both  sides  by  picturesque  mountains,  now 
contains  a  solid  Amish  community  covering  an  area  three  or 
four  miles  wide  and  fifteen  miles  long  in  the  general  region  below 
Belleville.  This  settlement  in  turn  during  the  next  century  fur- 
nished a  large  share  of  the  Amish  colonies  in  the  western  States. 

During  the  first  half  of  the  nineteenth  century,  Pennsyl- 


216  THE  MENNONITES 

vanians  founded  numerous  Amish  communities  in  Ohio,  Indiana, 
Illinois,  Iowa,  Nebraska  and  other  western  States.  The  first 
pioneers  to  enter  Ohio  were  "Yockle"  Miller  and  his  family,  who 
located  on  Sugar  creek  in  what  is  now  Tuscarawas  county  in 
1808.  Later  Pennsylvania  colonies  were  established  in  Holmes, 
Wayne,  Logan,  Champaign  and  Geauga  counties. 

By  1840  the  westward  tide  had  reached  Indiana.  A  group 
of  landseekers  from  Somerset  county,  including  preacher  Joe 
Miller,  after  visiting  Iowa  and  walking  back  through  Indiana, 
decided  to  locate  in  what  is  now  Elkhart  county  east  of  what  is 
now  Goshen.  From  Pennsylvania  and  some  of  the  older  Ohio 
settlements  there  were  developed  within  the  next  twenty-five 
years  numerous  congregations  in  Elkhart,  Noble,  LaGrange, 
Marshall,  Adams,  Newton,  Howard,  Miami,  Allen,  Jasper,  Davis 
and  Brown  counties. 

Between  1848  and  1852  several  Mifflin  county  families 
founded  the  Rock  creek  congregation  in  McClean  county,  Illinois. 
xAiter  the  Civil  war  another  large  community  of  conservative 
Pennsylvanians  largely  from  Somerset  county  established  the 
Moultrie  and  Douglas  county  congregations. 

In  Iowa  the  first  colony  of  native  Amish  was  established  in 
1846  in  Johnson  county  by  a  number  of  Pennsylvanians.  In  more 
recent  years  the  lure  of  cheap  lands  has  called  numerous  colonies 
from  all  these  older  States  to  Nebraska,  Kansas,  Arkansas,  Ore- 
gon, Colorado,  Oklahoma,  the  Dakotas,  Montana  and  Idaho. 
Renewed  Immigration 

In  the  meantime  the  tide  of  European  immigration,  lasting 
from  about  1820  to  1860,  and  which  is  described  elsewhere, 
brought  with  it  a  number  of  Amish  from  South  Germany  and 
France.  The  causes  of  this  immigrant  movement  being  given 
elsewhere  need  not  be  repeated  here.  These  came  largely  from 
Alsace,  Lorraine,  Bavaria  and  several  groups  from  Hesse-Darm- 
stadt. The  pioneer  of  the  Amish  contingent  was  a  Christian 
Augsburger  from  near  Strasburg,  who  came  to  America  in  1817. 
After  spending  a  few  months  in  Lancaster  county,  Pennsylvania, 
he  went  back  to  France,  but  returned  in  1819,  and  together  with 
five  other  families  located  in  what  is  now  Butler  county,  Ohio. 


Carlock,  Illinois,  Mennonite  Church,  Central  Conference. 


THE  AMISH  217 

Another  pioneer  was  Christian  Nafziger,  a  Bavarian,  who  landed 
at  New  Orleans  in  1822.  From  here  he  found  his  way  to  Lan- 
caster county,  walking  a  part  of  the  way,  and  from  there  to 
Waterloo  county,  Ontario,  in  search  of  cheap  lands  for  prospec- 
tive settlers.  He  secured  an  option  on  a  tract  of  land  and  went 
back  to  Bavaria,  but  did  not  return  until  1826.  In  the  meantime, 
in  1824,  a  German  colony  had  been  established  in  Canada. 
About  the  same  time,  too,  a  small  group  located  in  Stark  county, 
Ohio. 

During  the  next  twenty-five  years  numerous  Amish  families 
and  young  people  followed  these  pioneers  to  America.  Lancaster 
county  was  the  first  stopping  place.  From  there  prospective  set- 
tlers would  come  to  Butler  county,  Ohio,  by  way  of  Pittsburgh 
and  the  Ohio  river,  and  from  that  settlement  as  a  distributing 
station  would  seek  a  location  in  new  regions  where  cheap  lands 
could  be  had  in  large  quantities,  appearing  usually  among  the 
very  first  settlers  in  their  respective  communities. 

In  1830  a  colony  was  established  in  Lewis  county,  New  York. 
Beginning  with  1831  and  lasting  to  1850  a  number  of  Alsatians 
arrived  in  Illinois — some  by  way  of  New  York  or  Philadelphia, 
Lancaster,  Pittsburgh  and  the  Ohio-Mississippi-Illinois  rivers ; 
others  by  way  of  New  Orleans  and  the  river  route,  and  began  a 
large  settlement  along  the  Illinois  river  in  what  are  now  Taze- 
well, Woodford  and  Bureau  counties.  In  Woodford  county  two 
years  after  their  first  settlement  was  made,  they  organized  the 
earliest  German  church  in  the  State,  and  the  second  of  any  de- 
nomination within  the  county.  In  1834  also  the  large  settlement 
of  European  Amish  was  begun  in  Fulton  county,  Ohio,  and 
before  1840  a  small  colony  was  located  in  Southeastern  Iowa. 
The  Hessians  formed  a  group  rather  by  themselves  and  founded 
separate  congregations  in  Butler  county,  Ohio,  and  McClean  and 
Putnam  counties,  Illinois.  Many  of  these  Amish  were  originally 
of  Swiss  descent ;  others  were  South  Germans.  Among  the  family 
names  of  the  immigrants  of  this  period  the  following  were  the 
most  common, — Naffziger,  Oesch,  Virkler,  Gascho,  Schertz,  Fahr- 
ney,  Roggy,  Rupp,  Stucki,  Gerber,  Guengerich,  Belsley,  Auer, 
Zehr,  Moser,  Burcky,  Roth,  Litwiller,  Schrock,  Steinman,  Al- 


218  THE  MENNONITES 

brecht,  Bachman,  Kennel,  Imhoff,  Sommer,  Beck,  Slagel,  Spring- 
er, Guth,  Sweitzer,  Rediger,  Mosiman,  Augsburger,  Salzman, 
Gauchy,  Kinsinger,  Schlabach,  Risser,  Kamp,  Bechtel,  Schmidt, 
Ruvenacht,  Gundy,  Egly,  Klopfenstein,  Raber,  Swartzentraub. 

Up  to  about  the  middle  of  the  last  century  the  Amish  were 
one  body  so  far  as  their  faith  and  practise  was  concerned,  al- 
though, having  no  conferences,  there  was  no  organized  church 
life  beyond  that  of  the  congregation  itself.  They  were  exceed- 
ingly conservative,  but  differed  from  the  Mennonites  mainly  in 
a  rigid  application  of  the  practise  of  "shunning"  to  all  excom- 
municated members.  All  men  were  required  to  wear  beards,  as 
had  been  the  custom  of  their  fathers  in  Europe  for  centuries, 
but  mustaches  were  forbidden.  Parting  of  the  hair,  which  had 
to  be  cut  long  and  after  a  prescribed  form,  was  also  prohibited. 
All  clothes  must  be  home  made  and  fastened  with  hooks  and 
eyes  instead  of  buttons.  Suspenders,  too,  were  in  the  class  of 
proscribed  vanities.  Up  to  1850  there  were  no  meeting  houses. 
At  first  in  Europe  scattered  settlements,  long  distances  to  the 
place  of  meeting,  necessity  for  secrecy  and  poverty — all  forbade 
the  erection  of  meeting  houses.  What  was  thus  once  a  necessity 
m  Europe  became  an  established  custom  in  America,  still  per- 
petuated among  the  Old  Order  Amish.  Services  held  every 
three  or  four  weeks  were  long,  lasting  often  for  several  hours. 
Dinnei  was  served  by  the  host  at  whose  home  the  meeting  was 
held.  The  speech  of  every-day  conversation  was  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Dutch  among  the  Pennsylvanians,  and  the  Alsatian  and 
South  German  dialects  among  the  recent  immigrants.  The  lan- 
guage of  public  worship  was  German  until  within  the  past  few 
years.  The  old  Ausbund  was  used  exclusively  as  the  authorized 
hymnal,  and  more  than  one  part  singing  was  strictly  forbidden. 
Ministers  were  selected  by  lot  and  received  no  support.  If  the 
lot  struck  one  unqualified  for  the  ministry,  as  it  often  did,  there 
was  no  escape  from  what  was  regarded  as  a  direct  call  from  God, 
for  every  applicant  for  baptism  was  made  to  promise  that  he 
would  accept  such  a  call  before  he  was  received  into  membership. 

The  women,  too,  were  dressed  severely  plain.  They  wore 
tight  fitting  plain  clothes,  without  laces  or  frills,  with  capes  and 


THE  AMISH  219 

short  aprons.  During  worship  they  wore  a  black  cap  as  a  devo- 
tional covering.  This  was  the  conventional  garb  from  which 
no  sister  in  good  standing  dared  to  deviate  the  slightest  on  pain 
of  church  discipline. 

In  their  house  furnishings  and  every-day  conveniences  the 
same  rigid  austerity  was  prescribed  by  the  Amish.  Everything 
new  was  tabooed.  Under  the  ban  were  musical  instruments  of 
all  kinds,  pictures  on  the  walls,  curtains,  carpets  and  every  bit 
of  unnecessary  decoration  or  adornment.  During  the  middle  of 
the  last  century  the  more  progressive  members  introduced  top 
buggies  when  these  conveniences  came  into  vogue.  During  the 
same  period  among  the  Mennonites  in  some  of  the  eastern  sec- 
tions the  old-fashioned  dearborns  were  in  good  standing,  but 
"falling"  top  buggies  were  not.  Among  both  Amish  and  Men- 
nonites this  new  and  more  comfortable  means  of  transportation 
gained  the  sanction  of  those  in  authority  only  after  much  oppo- 
sition and  numerous  church  meetings.  Failure  to  comply  min- 
utely with  these  various  regulations  was  punishable  by  excom- 
munication. At  one  time,  some  fifty  years  ago,  a  member  in  an 
Illinois  congregation  was  excommunicated  for  insisting  on  wear- 
ing a  starched  shirt  bosom,  at  that  time  a  forbidden  bit  of  wearing 
apparel. 

In  spite  of  these  rigid  austerities,  however,  the  Amish  were 
sound  to  the  core  in  the  fundamental  virtues.  They  were  honest, 
industrious,  God-fearing,  religious,  kind-hearted  and  willing  to 
help  in  times  of  need.  They  were  usually  among  the  most  suc- 
cessful farmers  in  their  communities,  and  always  maintained  the 
respect  of  those  with  whom  they  came  in  contact. 

Owing  to  the  scattered  settlements  among  the  Pennsylvania 
descendants,  and  to  the  introduction  of  new  blood  from  Europe 
among  the  Amish,  a  series  of  local  differences  began  to  appear 
about  the  middle  of  the  last  century.  In  1850  a  dispute  arose  in 
Mifflin  county,  Pennsylvania,  which  later  spread  to  Wayne 
county,  Ohio,  over  the  method  of  baptism,  whether  it  was  to  be 
administered  in  the  house  or  outside  in  a  running  stream ;  at  the 
same  time,  too,  the  Butler  county  Amish  began  to  use  musical 
instruments   in   their   homes ;   the   preachers   of  Wayne   county 


220  THE  MENNONITES 

prayed  without  their  prayer  books,  and  had  discarded  the  old 
time-honored  Ausbund  for  more  modern  hymnals ;  in  some  con- 
gregations, too,  the  ministers  discarded  the  old  custom  of  with- 
drawing to  the  little  side  room  (the  abrat  or  kaemmerle)  before 
the  services. 

It  was  for  the  purpose  of  harmonizing  these  and  other  dis- 
cordant elements  that  a  general  conference  was  finally  called  of 
all  the  Amish  churches  of  America.  The  first  session  of  this 
series  of  conferences  was  held  in  a  capacious  barn  in  Wayne 
county,  Ohio,  in  1862,  at  which  seventy-two  ministers  were  pres- 
ent from  Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois  and 
Iowa.  Annual  sessions  were  held  after  this  for  twelve  years,  the 
last  meeting  being  held  at  Eureka,  Illinois,  in  1878,  without  ac- 
complishing the  purpose  for  which  the  conferences  were  first 
called. 

During  this  time  the  church  became  divided  into  several 
permanent  factions.  On  the  one  hand  several  liberal  congrega- 
tions in  Butler  county,  Ohio,  and  McClean  county,  Illinois, 
adopted  a  more  liberal  policy.  On  the  other  hand  a  goodly  num- 
ber of  the  more  conservative  congregations  withdrew  from  the 
conference  even  before  its  last  session  was  held,  and  together 
with  those  which  never  favored  it,  continued  in  the  good  old 
ways  of  the  fathers.  These  are  now  usually  spoken  of  as  the 
Old  Order.  In  between  these  two  were  left  a  number  of  con- 
gregations that  later  organized  themselves  again  into  confer- 
ences, and  occupied  at  first  a  rather  middle  position  on  questions 
of  church  practise,  but  now  are  more  progressive.  These  have 
gradually  assumed  the  name  of  Amish-Mennonite,  being  prac- 
tically in  sympathy  in  every  respect  with  the  main  body  of  the 
earlier  American  Mennonites,  spoken  of  in  this  book  as  the  Old 
Mennonites. 

Old  Order 

The  Old  Order  have  maintained  to  the  present  time  all  the 
good  old  customs  of  the  fathers  without  the  slightest  departure. 
Hooks  and  eyes,  beards,  aprons,  capes,  old  fashioned  bonnets, 
suspenderless  trousers,  broadbrimmed  hats  and  long  hair  are 


Amish  Men  of  Lancaster  County. 


Two    Old    Amish   Brethren   of   Lancaster   County,   Pa. 


THE  AMISH  221 

prescribed  as  rigidly  as  ever.  New  practises  and  improvements 
are  sparingly  adopted.  Under  the  ban  are  still  Sunday  schools, 
revival  meetings,  conferences,  high  school  education,  top  bug- 
gies, dashboards,  furnaces,  curtains,  musical  instruments,  "store" 
suspenders  or  suspenders  of  any  sort,  and  in  some  localities  even 
windmills  and  sewing  machines.  Strange  to  say  among  this  list 
of  worldly  contrivances  the  automobile  has  quite  generally  slipped 
in  as  a  necessity  and  not  a  luxury.  In  some  communities  mem- 
bers are  not  permitted  to  install  telephones  into  their  houses, 
but  may  use  those  of  their  worldly  neighbors.  Their  houses  are 
usually  painted  a  pure  white,  but  in  some  localities  in  Indiana  and 
Pennsylvania  they  show  a  partiality  for  painting  gates  and  out- 
buildings blue,  for  which  reason  they  are  sometimes  known 
locally  as  "Blue  Amish." 

While  in  general  they  are  still  sound  morally,  they  are 
addicted  to  certain  social  practises  and  moral  ideals  that  are  not 
wholesome.  Among  these  are  their  courting  customs,  which  re- 
semble in  some  respects  the  old  New  England  custom  of  bundling, 
and  the  results  of  which  are  often  no  less  unfortunate. 

The  chief  centers  of  the  Old  Amish  are  Lancaster  and  Mif- 
flin counties,  Pennsylvania ;  Holmes,  Tuscarawas  and  Geauga 
counties,  Ohio ;  LaGrange,  Howard,  Elkhart  and  Davis  counties, 
Indiana ;  Douglas  and  Moultries  counties,  Illinois ;  and  Washing- 
ton and  Johnson  counties,  Iowa,  with  smaller  communities  in 
Ontario,  Canada,  and  in  the  western  States  of  the  United  States. 

It  was  not  to  be  expected,  of  course,  that  a  church  so  indi- 
vidualistic and  unorganized  as  the  Amish  could  long  continue 
without  serious  internal  dissensions.  In  addition  to  the  differ- 
ences already  mentioned  they  passed  through  three  such  periods 
during  the  middle  of  the  last  century,  mostly  in  Indiana  and 
Illinois. 

New  Amish 

The  first  of  these  difficulties  was  the  one  with  the  so-called 
"New  Amish"  or  "Neu  Taeufer,"  whose  origin  in  Switzerland 
has  already  been  described  in  another  chapter.  These  people 
were  locally  called  New  Amish  in  Illinois,  not  because  they  sprang 
from  the  Amish,  but  because  in  Illinois  the  latter  furnished  the 


222  THE  MENNONITES 

earliest  converts.  The  adherents  of  the  new  faith  spoke  of  them- 
selves as  the  "Glaeubige"  (the  fatihful  ones), but  more  recently 
they  have  assumed  the  name  officially  of  the  "Apostolic  Church." 
As  already  suggested,  the  first  of  these  Neu  Tauefer  came  to 
Ohio  from  Switzerland  in  1846,  where  they  secured  a  small  fol- 
lowing among  their  countrymen  in  the  Wayne  county  Mennonite 
settlement.  In  1852  several  more  appeared  among  the  Amish  in 
Lewis  county,  New  York,  where  they  caused  the  usual  disturb- 
ance. From  the  latter  place  a  few  zealous  proselytes  to  the  new 
following  arrived  soon  after  among  some  of  their  kinsmen  in 
the  Amish  settlement  in  Woodford  county,  Illinois,  where  they 
secured  a  few  more  disgruntled  church  members  to  their  faith. 
In  1862  one  of  the  leaders  from  Illinois  established  a  small  fol- 
lowing in  Butler  county,  Ohio.  Illinois  has  remained,  however, 
the  center  of  the  new  sect.  The  growth  for  many  years  was 
slow.  By  1877  there  were  only  eighty-nine  members  in  all  these 
places,  and  the  number  would  have  remained  insignificant  had 
not  a  large  number  of  immigrants  from  Switzerland  within  recent 
years  been  added  to  the  original  nucleus.  There  are  at  present 
a  number  of  large  congregations  in  Woodford,  Tazewell  and 
Livingston  counties,  Illinois,  aggregating  perhaps  several  thou- 
sand members.  Small  communities  have  lately  also  been  estab- 
lished in  Indiana  and  other  States. 

They  still  maintain  the  same  spirit  of  exclusiveness  and 
superior  piety  which  characterized  them  in  Switzerland.  Their 
creed  forbids  them  to  have  any  religious  association  with  those 
of  other  church  affiliations.  They  dare  not  listen  to  preaching 
or  praying,  or  any  religious  exercise  conducted  by  members  of 
another  church,  hence  they  never  visit  other  churches.  They  do 
not  attend  the  funerals  of  even  their  nearest  relatives  if  not  mem- 
bers of  their  own  sect.  All  outside  of  their  own  fold  are  of  the 
"world"  and  sure  to  be  eternally  damned.  With  the  "world" 
they  can  have  no  religious  affiliation  whatsoever,  and  very  little 
social  intercourse.  They  carry  on  no  missionary  enterprise,  and 
are  not  in  favor  of  higher  education.  They  still  insist  upon  a 
rigid  observance  of  shunning  the  excommunicated,  of  whom  they 
usually  have  a  goodly  number  among  them.     Even  husband, 


o 

c 

(—1 

c 

CD 

t>J> 

« 

c 

CB 

p> 

to 

e 

iT 

^ 


c 

X! 

a 


THE  AMISH  223 

wife  and  children  must  observe  the  practise  among  themselves 
in  case  a  member  of  the  family  has  come  under  church  discipline. 
The  practise  has  led  within  recent  years  to  a  number  of  domestic 
tragedies  in  Central  Illinois.  In  one  case  an  entire  family  was 
wiped  out.  They  are  a  good  people,  however.  They  are  honest, 
industrious,  and  prosperous,  occupying  the  finest  farms  and  best 
kept  farm  buildings  within  the  rich  corn-belt  of  Central  Il- 
linois. 

Defenceless  Mennonites 

Hardly  had  the  New  Amish  disturbance  blown  over  when 
another  little  storm  center  developed  among  the  Amish,  this  time 
in  Adams  county,  Indiana,  and  later  also  in  Illinois  and  Ohio. 
The  leader  of  this  new  movement  was  Henry  Egli,  a  minister  in 
the  Amish  congregation  of  that  place.  About  1864  Egli  began 
to  urge  the  necessity  of  a  definite  conversion  experience  in  the 
religious  life.  His  charge  that  the  religious  life  of  the  time  was 
too  formal  and  was  not  based  on  a  vital  experience  may  have  had 
some  ground,  but  the  contention  that  the  austere,  simply  dressed 
brethren  of  that  day  were  too  liberal  in  their  dress  regulations 
can  hardly  be  taken  seriously.  In  1866  Egli  withdrew  from  the 
old  church,  and  formed  a  new  one  which  soon  included  the  larger 
part  of  his  former  congregation.  The  movement  later  spread 
to  Livingston  and  Tazewell  counties,  Illinois,  where  several  large 
congregations  have  since  developed. 

At  first  Egli's  followers  were  quite  strict  in  their  dress 
regulations,  rather  exclusive  in  their  religious  affiliations,  and 
rebaptized  all  those  of  their  members  who  had  come  from  the 
old  church  who  could  not  confess  that  they  had  been  truly  con- 
verted before,  a  confession  which  of  course  under  the  circum- 
stances few  could  make.  In  recent  years  the  old  differences  have 
largely  disappeared,  and  the  younger  generation  have  forgotten 
that  they  are  not  of  one  faith.  They  are  optional  immersionists, 
and  have  discarded  the  former  dress  restrictions.  In  every  other 
respect  their  faith  and  practise  is  identical  with  that  of  the  Amish 
Mennonites  and  the  other  more  conservative  wings  of  the  Men- 
nonite  denomination.  At  first  they  were  spoken  of  as  the  "Egli 
Amish"  by  members  of  the  church  which  they  left,  but  they  in 


224  THE  MENNONITES 

turn  officially  assumed  the  name  Defenceless  Mennonites.  The 
present  membership  in  Illinois,  Indiana  and  Ohio  and  a  few 
small  communities  in  other  States  is  about  one  thousand. 

Central  Illinois  Mennonites 

Hard  upon  the  Egli  defection  followed  the  trouble  between 
Joseph  Stuckey  and  the  Ministers'  Conference  already  mentioned. 
Stuckey  was  a  bishop  in  the  Rock  Creek,  Illinois,  congregation, 
and  was  one  of  the  leading  men  in  the  entire  church.  He  was  a 
man  of  strong  personality,  a  writer  of  some  ability,  and  talented 
with  more  than  ordinary  organizing  power,  and  was  one  of  the 
leading  spirits  in  the  Ministers'  Conference.  Being  rather  more 
liberal  minded  on  religious  questions  than  most  of  his  fellow  min- 
isters, he  occasionally  was  brought  into  friction  with  other  leaders 
even  before  1870,  the  time  his  troubles  began  with  the  Conference. 
About  this  time  a  dispute  arose  between  Stuckey  and  the  Confer- 
ence relative  to  the  expulsion  of  a  liberal  minded  member  of  the 
former's  congregation  by  the  name  of  Joseph  Yoder.  The  Con- 
ference ordered  Yoder's  excommunication  on  the  ground  that 
he  did  not  believe  in  eternal  punishment,  having  expressed  this 
sentiment  in  a  poem  called  "Die  Frohe  Botschaft."  Stuckey, 
however,  refused  to  carry  out  the  order.  The  question  was  taken 
up  at  the  annual  sessions  of  1870-71-72  without  a  final  agreement. 
Finally  a  committee  of  Easterners  was  appointed  to  make  a  thor- 
ough investigation  of  the  whole  matter  and  dispose  of  the  case. 
This  committee,  made  up  of  ultra-conservative  Pennsylvanians, 
decided  adversely  to  Stuckey  and  his  congregation,  which  stood 
by  him  in  this  controversy.  The  committee  further  decided  that 
Stuckey  and  his  congregation,  unless  he  complied  with  their 
findings,  would  no  longer  be  regarded  as  members  of  the  Con- 
ference. Most  of  the  other  Illinois  congregations  regarded  this 
decision  as  final,  and  it  was  announced  in  the  various  churches 
that  Stuckey  and  his  following  were  no  longer  one  of  them. 
Stuckey  did  not  attend  the  later  Conference  sessions,  which 
ceased  a  few  years  later  on.  There  was  no  further  formal  divi- 
sion, however.  The  Illinois  congregations  were  independent  of 
each  other  and  each  went  its  own  way.    Had  it  not  been  for  the 


THE  AMISH  225 

influence  later  of  the  conservative  Mennonite  ministers  of  the 
East  it  is  more  than  likely  that  to-day  there  would  be  little  differ- 
ence even  in  matters  of  dress  between  the  Amish  Mennonites  and 
the  followers  of  Joseph  Stuckey.  When,  however,  in  the  late 
eighties  the  Western  District  Conference  of  the  Amish  was  organ- 
ized Stuckey's  congregations  were  not  included,  and  since  then 
have  been  considered  a  separate  branch  of  the  church.  Stuck- 
ey not  only  retained  control  of  his  home  church  during  this  con- 
troversy, but  also  of  a  small  congregation  at  Meadows  which  he 
had  been  serving  as  an  elder.  Soon  other  congregations  joined 
his  in  a  more  liberal  church  policy  and  new  ones  were  formed. 
What  was  for  a  long  time  known  as  the  "Stuckey"  following 
grew  and  prospered  largely  at  the  expense  of  the  old  church 
until  to-day  there  is  a  membership  of  about  twenty-five  hundred, 
nearly  all  in  Central  Illinois,  although  there  are  several  churches 
in  Nebraska  and  Indiana.  In  1899  these  congregations  organ- 
ized a  conference  and  assumed  the  name  of  Illinois  Conference 
of  Mennonites.*  Outside  of  the  removal  of  dress  restrictions  the 
Illinois  Conference  of  Mennonites  differs  little  from  the  Amish 
Mennonites  and  the  Old  Mennonites  in  their  faith  and  practise. 
The  Conference  maintains  several  city  missions  and  also  a  station 
in  Africa,  and  recently  has  been  one  of  the  strongest  supporters 
of  Bluffton  College.  Its  leaders  are  earnest  men  devoted  to  the 
cause  of  the  church. 

All  of  these  progressive  elements,  including  the  Amish-Men- 
nonites,  of  what  was  once  known  as  the  Amish  wing  of  the 
church,  have  made  rapid  progress  during  the  past  decade  in  re- 
ligious and  educational  endeavor.  The  missionary  interest  is 
strong;  the  young  people  are  attending  High  Schools  and  Col- 
leges in  increasing  numbers ;  training  for  the  ministry  is  receiv- 
ing more  attention  than  formerly;  and  in  keeping  with  these 
new  interests  there  has  also  developed  a  finer  type  of  religious 
and  social  idealism.  All  this  advance,  especially  among  the 
younger  people,  which  falls  almost  entirely  within  the  brief 
span  of  the  present  rising  generation,  speaks  well  for  the  future 
usefulness  of  the  church. 


♦Since  changed  to  Central  Conference  of  Mennonites. 
8 


226  THE  MENNONITES 


CHAPTER  XIII 

DURING  THE  REVOLUTION 

The  Mennonites,  consistent  with  their  non-resistant  princi- 
ples, did  not  participate  in  the  Revolutionary  war  on  either  side. 
Most  of  them  undoubtedly  sympathized  with  the  colonists,  but 
there  were  some  who  rather  favored  the  opposite  side.  To  the 
usual  opposition  to  all  war  these  found  in  this  particular  war 
another  objection,  namely,  that  it  was  a  rebellion  against  consti- 
tuted authority,  and  their  religion  bade  them  to  pray  for  their 
rulers,  not  to  rise  up  against  them.  A  number  were  perhaps  out 
and  out  Tories  in  their  sympathies.  These  migrated  to  Canada 
after  the  war. 

From  actual  military  drill  which  was  prescribed  by  the 
Pennsylvania  Assembly,  the  Mennonites  and  other  peace  denom- 
inations were  exempt,  but  they  were  to  pay  an  extra  sum  of 
money  called  a  fine  for  this  privilege.  These  fines  were  paid 
with  little  objection,  but  as  to  whether  they  could  consistently 
pay  the  special  war  tax  which  was  levied  upon  all  the  inhabitants, 
there  was  some  difference  of  opinion.  Many  of  them  joined  the 
Quakers  in  their  opposition  to  helping  the  war  with  their  means 
as  well  as  by  actual  bearing  of  arms.  A  discussion  of  this  ques- 
tion in  Montgomery  county,  in  1776,  led  to  the  first  division  in 
the  American  Mennonite  church.  In  that  year  a  meeting  was 
held  in  Indianfield  township  in  the  above  county  for  the  purpose 
of  choosing  three  men  to  represent  the  township  in  a  general 
State  convention  which  was  to  determine  whether  Pennsylvania 
should  join  the  other  colonies  in  declaring  her  independence 
from  England.  Most  of  the  Mennonites  who  were  present  de- 
clared that  since  they  were  a  "defenceless  people  and  could 
neither  institute  nor  destroy  any  government,  they  could  not 
interfere  in  tearing  themselves  away  from  the  king." 


DURING  THE  REVOLUTION  227 

Among-  those  present  was  a  minister,  Christian  Funk,  who, 
though  a  staunch  defender  of  the  cause  of  Congress,  did  not  at 
this  time  seem  to  offer  any  serious  objection  to  the  above  declar- 
ation. The  following  year,  however,  when  some  of  his  fellow 
ministers  declared  that  their  non-resistant  principles  forbade  them 
pay  a  special  war  tax  of  "three  pounds  and  ten  shillings,"  Funk 
protested  and  maintained  that  the  tax  should  be  paid.  "Were 
Christ  here,"  he  said,  "He  would  say,  Give  to  Congress  that 
which  belongs  to  Congress  and  to  God  that  which  belongs  to 
God."  Andrew  Ziegler,  the  spokesman  for  the  opposite  party, 
replied, — "I  would  as  soon  go  to  war  as  pay  the  three  pounds 
and  ten  shillings."  Funk  was  finally  excommunicated,  in  1778, 
for  these  views,  and  together  with  those  who  believed  as  he  did, 
he  organized  several  small  congregations  of  his  own  throughout 
the  county.  This  small  group  of  people,  called  "Funkites,"  re- 
tained a  separate  organization  until  1850,  when  long  after  the 
participants  in  the  original  dispute  had  died,  it  became  extinct. 

The  majority  of  the  Mennonites  of  Pennsylvania  objected 
not  only  to  the  payment  of  the  special  war  tax,  but  also  to  the 
new  oath  of  allegiance  which  was  required  of  all  citizens  after 
the  Declaration  of  Independence.  Not  that  they  did  not  wish  to 
be  loyal  citizens  of  Pennsylvania,  but  in  addition  to  their  opposi- 
tion to  all  oaths,  they  feared  that  this  one  in  particular  would 
commit  them  to  the  cause  of  the  war.  Many  refused  to  take  the 
oath,  and  some  who  took  it  were  excommunicated  from  the 
church.  The  State  authorities,  however,  knowing  their  scruples 
against  both  the  oath  and  war,  and  that  they  were  not  disloyal, 
were  inclined  to  treat  them  leniently. 

Although  the  Mennonites  did  not  bear  arms  during  the  war, 
several  of  the  engagements  took  place  in  Mennonite  communities. 
The  battle  of  Germantown  was  fought  in  the  vicinity  of  the  little 
Mennonite  meeting  house  which  shows  the  scars  of  battle  to  this 
day.  The  Valley  Forge  winter  quarters  were  located  in  the  Skip- 
pack  region.  A  number  of  the  Mennonites  were  impressed  into 
the  service  at  the  time,  while  Washington's  headquarters  were 
in  the  home  of  a  Mennonite  preacher.  In  Lancaster  county,  too, 
the  horses  and  wagons  of  the  rich  farmers  were  frequently  im- 


228  THE  MENNONITES 

pressed  into  the  quartermaster  service  during  the  Pennsylvania 
campaigns. 

Another  event,  the  apostacy  of  Martin  Boehm,  while  not  a 
result  of  the  war,  yet  occurred  at  this  time  and  may  as  well  be 
told  here  as  elsewhere.  Boehm  was  a  Mennonite  bishop  at  Wil- 
low Street  in  Lancaster  county.  In  a  visit  to  Virginia  in  1761 
he  came  into  contact  with  a  revival  movement  and  was  greatly 
influenced  by  it.  By  1775  he  had  aroused  the  ill-will  of  his  fellow 
ministers  by  his  fiery  preaching  and  was  expelled.  In  the  mean- 
time the  Methodists  had  entered  Pennsylvania,  and  Boehm  soon 
cast  his  lot  with  them,  becoming  one  of  the  pioneer  Methodist 
preachers  in  Lancaster  county.  In  1800,  together  with  Otterbein, 
a  minister  of  the  Reformed  church,  he  also  became  the  founder 
of  what  is  now  known  as  the  United  Brethren  church.  In  1805 
he  was  elected  a  bishop  in  the  United  Brethren  church,  but  in 
the  meantime  also  had  his  name  enrolled  in  the  Methodist  class 
book.  Whether  he  was  a  Methodist  or  United  Brethren  was 
perhaps  not  quite  clear  to  his  friends,  as  the  following  epitaph 
which  appears  on  the  stone  marking  his  last  resting  place,  would 
indicate, — 

"Here  lie  the  remains  of  Rev.  Martin  Boehm,  who  departed 
this  life  (after  a  short  illness)  March  23,  1812,  in  the  87th  year 
of  his  age.  Fifty-four  years  he  fully  preached  the  Gospel  to 
thousands,  and  labored  in  the  Vineyard  of  the  Lord  Jesus  in 
Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  and  Virginia  among  many  denomina- 
tions, but  particularly  the  Mennonites,  United  Brethren  and 
Methodists,  with  the  last  of  whom  he  lived  and  died  in  fellow- 
ship. He  not  only  gave  himself  and  his  services  to  the  church, 
but  also  fed  the  Lord's  prophets  and  people  by  multitudes.  He 
was  an  Israelite  in  whom  was  no  guile.    His  end  was  peace." 


ONTARIO  229 


CHAPTER  XIV 


ONTARIO 


During  the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth  century  because  of 
population  pressure,  the  younger  people  of  Lancaster,  Bucks 
and  Montgomery  counties  found  it  necessary  to  search  elsewhere 
for  cheap  lands  for  future  homes.  After  the  war,  colonization 
societies  had  been  formed  for  the  purpose  of  helping  the  poorer 
members  of  the  old  communities  to  find  new  homes.  At  the  same 
time,  too,  as  we  saw,  there  were  those  who  were  not  in  sym- 
pathy with  the  separation  from  the  English  crown.  The  period 
of  anarchy  following  the  close  of  the  war  did  not  strengthen 
the  confidence  of  this  class  in  the  new  government.  To  all  of 
these  the  large  tracts  of  cheap  lands  in  Ontario,  not  far  from 
the  American  line,  seemed  to  offer  an  opportunity  both  for  bet- 
tering their  material  condition,  and  at  the  same  time  remaining 
under  the  rule  of  the  English  king. 

Among  the  first  to  turn  their  eyes  in  this  direction  were  a 
small  group  of  men  from  Plumstead,  in  Bucks  county.  As  early 
as  1786  John,  Dilman,  Jacob  and  Stoffel  Kolb,  Franklin  Albright 
and  Frederich  Hahn  left  this  community  for  the  Canadian  bor- 
der. Following  the  Susquehanna,  they  crossed  the  boundary  at 
Niagara,  and  located  in  Lincoln  county,  about  twenty  miles  from 
Niagara  Falls.  Later  a  number  of  other  settlers  were  added  to 
this  community,  which  became  known  as  "The  Twenty."  Other 
small  groups  also  soon  after  located  in  Wellington,  Welland  and 
Haldeman  counties. 

In  the  meantime  another  colony  was  located  farther  out  on 
the  frontier.  In  1799  Joseph  Schoerg  and  Samuel  Betzner  from 
Franklin  county,  crossed  Pennsylvania  and  New  York  for  the 
region  beyond  the  Great  Lakes.  After  spending  the  winter  on 
the  Canadian  side  near  Niagara,  the  next  spring  they  started 


230  THE  MENNONITES 

out  on  a  tour  of  investigation,  and  finally  selected  the  fertile  and 
heavily  timbered  region  along  the  Grand  river  in  what  is  now 
Waterloo  county  for  their  future  homes.  This  part  of  the  coun- 
try was  still  unsettled  at  the  time  except  by  a  few  fur  traders, 
who  had  erected  temporary  quarters  along  the  banks  of  the  river. 
Returning  to  Niagara,  these  two  pioneers  located  the  next  spring 
with  their  families  about  thirty  miles  beyond  Dundas,  near  the 
present  villages  of  Doon  and  Blair,  in  Waterloo  county,  which 
at  that  time  marked  the  frontier  line.  Later  in  the  same  year 
other  families  from  Lancaster  county  arrived  in  Conestoga 
wagons,  and  settled  in  the  same  region.  For  the  next  thirty 
years  numerous  colonists  were  added  to  the  original  settlement, 
and  the  colony  grew  until  all  of  the  present  Waterloo  township 
and  large  parts  of  surrounding  townships  were  occupied  by  Men- 
nonites.  They  came  principally  from  Bucks  and  Lancaster,  but 
also  from  all  the  other  counties  Of  Southeastern  Pennsylvania  in 
which  Mennonites  were  found.  A  little  village  developed  in  the 
center  of  the  settlement,  which  at  first  was  called  Ebytown,  but 
according  to  a  traveller  in  1833  was  then  known  as  Rumble- 
town.  Soon  after,  however,  it  became  known  as  Berlin,  but  dur- 
ing the  recent  war  the  name  was  again  changed  by  a  vote  of  the 
people  themselves  to  Kitchener. 

The  most  common  Canadian  Mennonite  names  are  Bauman, 
Bechtel,  Bergey,  Betzner,  Brubacher,  Burkholder,  Cressman, 
Detweiler,  Eby,  Erb,  Gehman,  Gingerich,  Reist,  Sherk,  Stauffer, 
Groff,  Hagey,  Hallman,  Kolb,  Horst,  Honsberger,  Hoffman, 
Martin,  Moyer,  Musselman,  Reichert,  Weaver,  Snyder,  Shoe- 
maker, Shantz,  Witmer,  Hoover,  Wismer,  etc. 

The  first  settlers  all  bought  their  land  from  a  speculator  by 
the  name  of  Richard  Beasley,  who  owned  the  greater  part  of 
Waterloo  township,  at  a  price  ranging  from  one  to  four  dollars 
per  acre.  In  1803  it  was  accidentally  discovered  that  the  land 
sold  by  Beasley  was  covered  by  a  twenty  thousand  dollar  mort- 
gage. Immigration  ceased  and  the  colony  was  about  to  be 
broken  up,  when,  upon  the  advice  of  Hans  Eby,  a  group  of  Lan- 
caster county  Mennonites  formed  a  company  similar  to  our  pres- 
ent stock  companies  and  bought  the  entire  township,  assuming 


ONTARIO  231 

the  mortgage.  The  twenty  thousand  dollars  in  silver,  it  is  said, 
was  carried  in  a  box  in  a  light  wagon  to  Canada,  where  it  was 
used  to  liquidate  the  mortgage,  for  which  the  company  in  turn 
received  a  clear  title  to  60,000  acres  of  land  in  what  is  now 
Waterloo  county.  The  entire  tract  was  divided  into  lots  of  448 
acres  each,  and  each  stockholder  drew  by  lot  his  share  of  the 
tract  according  to  the  amount  of  stock  he  held. 

A  little  later,  in  1824,  a  colony  of  European  Amish  immi- 
grants also  founded  a  settlement  in  Waterloo  county. 

In  the  meantime,  in  1803,  another  settlement  had  been  begun 
in  York  county,  near  the  present  town  of  Markham,  about  twenty 
miles  north  of  Toronto.  This  community  consists  at  present  of 
four  small  congregations. 

These  early  pioneers  were  of  hardy  stock  and  endured  the 
usual  pioneer  hardships.  The  journey  from  the  Pennsylvania 
settlements  to  Waterloo  covered  about  five  hundred  miles,  and 
had  to  be  made  over  the  Pennsylvania  mountains  through  heavy 
forests  and  almost  impassable  swamps.  Some  went  on  horse- 
back, but  most  of  them  loaded  their  household  goods  on  the  well- 
known  Conestoga  wagons  to  which  were  hitched  four  or  five 
horses.  They  frequently  drove  their  cattle  with  them.  The  route 
usually  followed  led  across  the  Alleghany  mountains,  thence  up 
the  Susquehanna  through  New  York,  and  struck  the  Niagara 
a  little  below  Buffalo.  From  here  the  journey  was  made  to 
Dundas  by  way  of  what  is  now  Hamilton,  thence  across  the 
"Beverly  Swamp"  to  the  new  settlement  on  the  Grand.  The  time 
occupied  on  the  journey  was  from  four  to  eight  weeks.  This 
region  was  heavily  wooded  and  the  first  few  years  were  occupied 
largely  by  the  settlers  in  making  small  clearings  from  which  they 
might  extract  a  scant  living,  and  in  erecting  their  first  log-cabins. 

During  the  War  of  1812  communication  between  the  Cana- 
dians and  their  Pennsylvania  brethren  was  broken  off,  and  there 
was  no  immigration  for  a  few  years,  although  it  was  resumed 
soon  after.  The  Mennonites  were  not  forced  to  serve  in  the 
army,  but  a  number  were  impressed  with  their  teams  into  the 
transportation  service  in  the  Niagara  region  during  the  battles 
that  were  fought  in  that  vicinity.     After  the  war  the  British 


232  THE  MENNONITES 

Government  made  good  all  the  losses  suffered,  and  paid  for  the 
time  of  actual  service  at  a  fair  price. 

Among-  the  early  pioneers  was  Benjamin  Eby,  who  came  to 
Waterloo  county  in  1806.  Three  years  later  he  was  ordained 
to  the  ministry,  and  in  1812  to  the  office  of  bishop.  From  this 
time  until  his  death  in  1853,  he  was  one  of  the  leaders  in  all  the 
important  events  in  the  history  of  the  Canadian  church.  In  1813 
the  first  Mennonite  meeting  house,  built  of  logs,  was  erected  on 
his  farm,  and  was  known  as  the  Eby  church.  Here  Bishop  Eby 
preached  and  also  taught  school  during  the  winter  months  for 
many  years.  He  was  a  man  of  more  than  ordinary  talent  and 
wrote  several  books,  the  most  important  of  which  was  a  short 
history  of  the  Mennonites,  first  published  in  1841  at  Berlin, 
Ontario,  in  the  German  language. 

The  Canadians,  of  course,  were  typical  Pennsylvanians,  and 
brought  with  them  Pennsylvania  customs,  Pennsylvania  con- 
servatism and  the  Pennsylvania  Dutch  speech. 

Like  the  Mennonites  elsewhere  they  did  not  escape  internal 
dissensions.  About  the  middle  of  the  last  century  there  began  a 
movement  in  Lincoln  county  in  favor  of  more  aggressive  church 
work.  The  leader  of  this  cause  was  Daniel  Hoch,  a  minister, 
who  advocated  more  modern  methods  of  church  work,  and  espe- 
cially greater  evangelistic  activity.  The  result  of  this  agitation 
was  a  church  division.  Hoch  soon  found  a  kindred  spirit  in 
Oberholtzer,  who  was  leading  a  similar  movement  in  Pennsyl- 
vania. He  warmly  seconded  the  efforts  of  Oberholtzer  in  1860 
for  the  establishing  of  a  general  conference  of  a  number  of  the 
liberal  congregations  in  America,  and  was  one  of  the  promoters 
of  that  enterprise.  His  followers  in  Canada  never  developed 
much  strength.  They  finally  affiliated  with  a  similar  group  under 
the  name  of  New  Mennonites.  A  movement  very  similar  to  the 
above  arose  in  Bruce  county  a  little  later,  in  1871,  under  the 
leadership  of  Solomon  Eby.  This  agitation  in  turn  also  spread 
to  Waterloo  county  as  well  as  to  Indiana.  These  various  groups 
of  Mennonites,  all  favoring  prayermeetings  and  more  aggressive 
evangelistic  efforts,  formed  in  1874  what  became  known  as  the 
Reformed  Mennonites,  not  to  be  confused  with  the  present  body 


ONTARIO  233 

known  by  that  name  on  this  side  of  the  line.  A  later  amalgama- 
tion resulted  in  the  United  Mennonites,  which  still  later  merged 
with  other  groups  into  the  present  Mennonite  Brethren  in  Christ. 

The  Martinites  or  "Woolwichers,"  as  they  are  called  locally, 
include  a  number  of  members  of  the  Woolwich  township  church, 
who  in  the  early  seventies  followed  the  lead  of  Jacob  Wisler  of 
Indiana  in  his  stand  for  ultra-conservative  ideas.  In  the  early 
eighties  these  formally  withdrew  and  now  form  an  independent 
body,  although  they  associate  in  religious  work  with  the  Wisler 
Mennonites  of  Indiana  and  Ohio. 

Among  the  main  body  of  Mennonites  the  work  of  John  S. 
Coffman  in  the  early  nineties  resulted  in  a  decided  religious 
awakening. 

From  these  early  settlements  in  Ontario  there  have  devel- 
oped a  number  of  congregations  of  various  branches  approxi- 
mately with  the  following  membership  at  present, — Old  Men- 
nonites, 1,600;  Mennonite  Brethren  in  Christ,  1,800;  Wool- 
wichers, 500 ;  Amish,  400. 


234  THE  MENNONITES 


CHAPTER  XV. 

THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY 

The  Westward   Expansion  of  the  Pennsylvania  and   Virginia 

Mennonites 

During  the  first  half  of  the  nineteenth  century  numerous 
colonies  of  Mennonites  from  the  old  settlements  beyond  the  Alle- 
ghanies  in  both  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia  were  established 
within  the  States  of  the  old  Northwest  Territory.  In  the  very 
opening  of  the  century,  and  before  Ohio  became  a  State,  a  flour- 
ishing colony  had  been  established  within  the  boundaries  of  that 
State.  Among  a  group  of  colonists  from  Lancaster  county, 
Pennsylvania,  who  had  founded  the  present  town  of  Lancaster 
in  Fairfield  county,  just  ten  years  after  Marietta  was  settled, 
was  a  Mennonite  named  Martin  Landis,  who  a  few  years  later 
built  a  meeting  house  on  his  farm  to  be  at  the  service  of  all 
denominations  desiring  to  use  it.  Several  years  later  a  number 
of  Mennonites  came  to  the  same  region  from  Pennsylvania  and 
Virginia.  Among  these  was  Henry  Stemen,  who  settled  near 
the  present  town  of  Bremen  in  1803,  and  who  became  one  of  the 
pioneer  Mennonite  bishops  of  the  State. 

During  the  next  fifty  years  a  number  of  communities  were 
organized  by  Easterners  in  various  parts  of  the  State,  wherever 
cheap  lands  in  good  farming  regions  were  to  be  found.  Congre- 
gations were  begun  in  Stark  county  in  1811;  in  Mahoning  and 
Columbiana  counties  in  1815;  and  in  Wayne  and  Medina  coun- 
ties in  1825  and  1834,  respectively.  Before  the  Civil  war,  small 
groups  had  located  throughout  Northwestern  Ohio  in  Allen,  Put- 
nam, Hancock,  Wood,  Seneca,  Williams,  Ashland,  Clark  and 
Franklin  counties.  With  the  exception  of  small  congregations 
at  Elida,  Bluffton,  New  Stark  and  Mt.  Blanchard,  these  have 
practically  all  become  extinct.    During  these  years,  too,  a  large 


THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY  235 

number  of  Europeans,  both  Mennonites  and  Amish,  located  in 
Ohio,  as  did  also  a  number  of  Amish  from  Pennsylvania.  In 
1852  also  Minister  Ephraim  Hunsberger  of  the  Oberholtzer  fol- 
lowing' from  Montgomery  county,  Pennsylvania,  organized  a 
congregation  at  Wadsworth,  in  Medina  county. 

During  this  same  period  several  small  settlements  had  been 
made  in  Northwestern  New  York  not  far  from  the  Niagara 
boundary.  Natives  from  Lancaster  county,  Pennsylvania,  had 
located  in  Niagara  county  in  1810,  and  in  Erie  county  in  1824. 
In  1831  several  German  families  from  the  Palatinate  found  their 
wa;  here  also.  These  communities  never  grew  large,  however, 
and  are  now  nearly  extinct. 

The  first  Mennonites  in  Indiana  were  the  Swiss,  who  came 
in  1838.  The  first  native  members  of  the  church,  however,  came 
from  Ohio  under  the  leadership  of  John  Smith  from  Medina 
county,  who  visited  Elkhart  county,  Indiana,  in  1843.  Two  years 
later  he  returned  with  others  and  began  a  community  in  Harrison 
township  in  the  above  county.  Other  Ohioans  followed,  and  soon 
several  congregations  were  formed  in  the  county.  In  1853  a 
group  of  Hollanders  from  Europe  joined  the  present  Salem 
congregation.  There  are  at  present  eleven  congregations  in 
Indiana,  and  several  in  Michigan.  Several  church  divisions  oc- 
curred in  Indiana  during  the  early  seventies,  one  led  by  Jacob 
Wisler,  and  the  other  by  Daniel  Brenneman,  but  these  are  dis- 
cussed elsewhere  in  this  book.  There  are  a  number  of  Wisler 
and  Mennonite  Brethren  congregations  now  in  the  region  of  the 
early  settlement. 

Mennonites  reached  Illinois  even  earlier  than  Indiana,  com- 
ing to  that  State  only  a  few  years  later  than  the  Amish.  The 
first  Mennonite  family  to  locate  in  Illinois  was  that  of  Benjamin 
Kendig  from  Augusta  county,  Virginia,  who  left  his  home  in 
the  spring  of  1833  in  search  of  better  opportunities  for  himself 
in  the  then  far  West.  Loading  all  his  worldly  possessions  on 
three  wagons,  he  began  his  journey  overland  through  Kentucky, 
Indiana  and  Illinois  for  his  western  home.  In  October  of  the 
same  year,  after  a  journey  of  eight  hundred  miles,  which  was 
made  in  seven  weeks,  he  reached  what  was  then  known  as  Hoi- 


236  THE  MENNONITES 

land's  Grove  in  Tazewell  county,  where  he  began  the  first 
Mennonite  community  in  Illinois  near  the  Amish  settlements 
begun  two  years  before.  Others  followed  from  Virginia  and 
Pennsylvania,  but  the  community  never  grew  large  and  at  times 
was  scarcely  able  to  maintain  itself  as  a  religious  organization. 
Between  this  and  1865  a  number  of  small  groups  of  Mennonites 
from  the  East  located  throughout  the  State,  but  none  of  them 
were  large.  The  entire  membership  today  of  all  the  scattered 
communities  is  barely  over  five  hundred.  Among  the  congrega- 
tions are  those  at  Freeport,  founded  in  the  forties ;  Cullom,  in 
Livingston  county,  established  in  1858;  Sterling,  founded  about 
the  same  time ;  and  Morrison,  in  1865.  Several  other  congrega- 
tions were  organized  which  have  since  become  extinct.  In  1842 
also  was  begun  the  German  colony  in  St.  Clair  county.  The  large 
Amish  settlements,  throughout  Central  Illinois  described  else- 
where, do  not  belong  to  the  group  discussed  in  this  chapter. 

Throughout  the  States  beyond  the  Mississippi,  too,  after 
the  Civil  war  small  scattered  groups  of  Mennonites  from  the 
East  were  located  in  Iowa,  Missouri,  Nebraska,  Kansas,  Idaho, 
Colorado,  Oregon,  Oklahoma,  North  Dakota,  Texas  and  several 
other  States.  The  entire  membership,  however,  west  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi of  such  churches  as  migrated  from  the  East,  most  of 
which  belong  to  the  Old  Mennonite  branch,  exclusive  of  the 
Amish  and  later  European  immigrants,  of  course,  is  scarcely 
over  one  thousand. 

Many  of  these  pioneers  in  the  far  West  had  to  endure  all 
the  usual  hardships  of  frontier  life.  Many  were  homesteaders, 
and  all  were  poor.  In  the  early  seventies  the  grasshopper  plague, 
and  later  hot  winds,  drove  many  either  back  East  or  to  other  more 
favorable  western  localities.  Others  remained  and  have  since 
become  fairly  prosperous. 

A   New  Immigrant  Tide 

In  the  meantime,  from  about  1820  to  1860,  a  new  wave  of 
European  immigration  had  set  in  from  south  Germany  and 
Switzerland.  The  main  background  for  this  movement  has  been 
discussed  in  the  chapter  on  Switzerland,  but  in  addition  to  the 


THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY  237 

reasons  there  given — militarism,  economic  distress,  and  the  polit- 
ical unrest  of  such  revolutionary  years  as  1820,  1830  and  1848 — 
may  be  added  as  an  attracting  force  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic, 
the  rapid  expansion  and  economic  development  of  the  Middle 
West  during  this  period.  Directly  after  the  war  of  1812,  sta- 
tistics show  that  immigration  from  all  classes  from  Middle  and 
Western  Europe  rose  rapidly,  culminating  especially  in  the  high 
record  of  the  year  1820.  Enthusiastic  letters  to  friends  and  rela- 
tives in  Europe  from  those  already  here,  and  systematic  adver- 
tising on  the  part  of  the  ship  companies  in  all  the  large  centers 
of  population  greatly  aided  the  immigration  movement  during 
those  years. 

In  addition  to  all  these  causes  which  affected  all  classes 
more  or  less,  we  saw  that  the  Mennonites  were  especially  con- 
cerned about  the  military  question.  The  Mennonites  of  South 
Germany  and  Switzerland  had  been  impressed  into  service  during 
the  Napoleonic  wars.  At  the  same  time  they  were  trying  to 
maintain  their  non-resistance.  The  Ibersheim  Conference  of 
1803  threatened  with  excommunication  all  the  young  men  who 
voluntarily  joined  the  army.  The  fear  lest  they  might  not  be 
able  to  maintain  their  peace  principles  was  a  strong  factor  in 
determining  the  immigration  of  so  many  Mennonites. 

Among  the  first  of  the  immigrants  of  the  new  tide  were  the 
Swiss  from  both  the  Jura  and  the  Emmenthal  settlements.  As 
just  suggested,  the  European  side  of  this  immigration  is  dis- 
cussed in  another  chapter,  and  needs  no  mention  here.  The 
pioneer  of  the  Swiss  movement  was  Benedict  Schraag  from 
Basel,  who  located  with  his  family  in  what  is  now  Wayne  county, 
Ohio,  as  early  as  1817.  As  a  result  of  enthusiastic  letters  written 
back  to  his  friends,  two  years  later  four  families  from  the  Jura 
settlement — Peter  Lehman,  Isaac  Sommer,  Ulrich  Lehman  and 
David  Kilchofer — began  the  large  settlement  known  as  the  Son- 
nenberg  congregation  near  Dalton.  In  the  years  immediately 
following  many  other  families  joined  these  early  pioneers  from 
both  the  communities  in  the  Canton  of  Bern.  Two  large  congre- 
gations were  formed  in  Wayne  county,  and  in  1833  Michael 
Neuenschwander,  who  had  come  to  Wayne  county  from  Switz- 


238 


THE  MENNONITES 


erland  ten  years  before,  began  another  colony  in  what  is  now 
Allen  county,  along-  the  banks  of  Riley  creek,  three  miles  north- 
west of  what  is  now  Bluffton,  but  then  a  howling  wilderness. 
In  the  years  immediately  following  numerous  Swiss  and  several 
Alsatians  located  in  this  region,  and  the  community  has  since 
developed  into  four  large  congregations,  embracing  an  entire 
Mennonite  population  of  nearly  twenty-five  hundred. 

In  the  meantime,  before  1838,  Daniel  Baumgartner  and 
several  others  from  Wayne  county  began  another  settlement  in 
Adams  county,  Indiana.  In  a  few  years  a  small  group  of  his 
fellow-believers  had  settled  in  the  same  region  and  had  formed 
a  church.  It  was  not  until  the  years  from  1852  to  1854,  however, 
that  large  numbers  came  from  Switzerland  and  laid  the  founda- 
tion of  the  present  large  congregation  at  Berne.  This  com- 
munity now  embraces  about  two  thousand  souls.  The  congrega- 
tion of  nearly  one  thousand  souls  worships  in  the  largest  and 
finest  Mennonite  church  house  in  America,  and  is  perhaps  the 
best  organized  and  one  of  the  most  progressive  found  in  any 
of  the  branches  of  the  denomination. 

From  these  pioneer  Swiss  settlements  in  Ohio  and  Indiana 
other  small  communities  have  been  established  in  recent  years  in 
Missouri,  Oklahoma,  and  Oregon,  with  individual  settlers  in 
many  localities  in  the  West.  In  recent  years,  too,  several  small 
communities  have  been  founded  in  the  western  States  by  immi- 
grants direct  from  Switzerland.  Among  these  was  a  small  group 
of  fourteen  families  who  located  at  Pulaski,  Iowa,  in  1873,  under 
the  leadership  of  Philip  Roulet,  who  after  two  years  in  Butler 
county,  Ohio,  had  come  to  Iowa  in  1869.  This  group  later  moved 
to  Missouri,  however,  and  finally  to  Kansas.  In  1883  another 
group  of  ten  families  came  direct  from  the  Canton  of  Bern  to 
Whitewater,  Kansas. 

The  Swiss  immigrants  of  the  earlier  period,  when  they  left 
their  homes,  packed  their  goods,  wives  and  children  in  one-horse 
wagons  and  started  out  on  the  first  five  hundred  mile  lap  of 
their  long  journey  through  France  to  Havre,  where  they  would 
sell  their  horses  but  not  their  wagons,  and  wait  for  the  ship  on 
which  they  were  to  take  passage.     A  voyage  across  the  ocean 


Mennonite  Church,  Berne,  Indiana. 


THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY  239 

in  the  small  sailing  ships  of  those  days  was  still  somewhat  of 
an  uncertain  and  hazardous  venture.  One  group  of  one  hundred 
and  seventy-five  persons  were  given  an  entire  vessel  to  them- 
selves, a  small  cotton  freighter,  a  three  master,  only  one  hundred 
and  twenty-three  feet  long,  twenty-two  feet  wide,  with  a  carrying 
capacity  of  eight  hundred  tons.  The  captain,  two  steersmen,  a 
cook,  mate  and  seven  sailors  constituted  the  crew.  In  this  frail 
bark  they  spent  six  weeks  on  the  seas,  a  part  of  the  time  in 
heavy  storms. 

The  ships  usually  landed  at  New  York.  Here  our  Swiss 
immigrants  would  again  purchase  a  horse,  which  they  would 
hitch  to  the  wagon  they  had  brought  over  with  them,  and  begin 
another  overland  journey  of  some  five  hundred  miles  over  the 
mountains  and  across  the  rivers  of  Pennsylvania  to  their  chosen 
homes  in  the  hardwood  forests  of  Ohio,  the  entire  journey  from 
Switzerland  to  Ohio  lasting  usually  in  the  early  days  about  six 
months. 

The  first  settlers  usually  being  poor,  located  on  uncleared 
government  land  which  could  still  be  purchased  at  $1.25  per 
acre.  The  first  years  were  spent  in  making  small  clearings,  and 
erecting  the  first  log  buildings.  Farm  products  were  cheap. 
The  nearest  market  was  one  hundred  miles  away.  Money  was 
scarce.  One  Switzer  in  Wayne  county  at  one  time  walked  fifteen 
miles  to  the  home  of  an  Amishman  for  the  price  of  a  postage 
stamp  to  send  a  letter  home.  Clothing,  from  straw  hats  to 
wooden  shoes,  was  all  home  grown  and  home  made.  For  a  long 
time,  too,  the  Switzers  retained  their  strange  Swiss  customs — 
hooks  and  eyes,  and  "Swietzer  Dietch,"  which  is  still  the  common 
language  of  everyday  conversation.  Before  1854  baptism  was 
always  administered  in  private,  never  in  public — a  custom  made 
necessary  in  the  early  days  in  Switzerland  because  of  persecu- 
tion. 

In  their  church  affiliations  they  remained  for  a  long  time 
independent  from  any  of  the  American  organized  conferences. 
The  Chippewa  and  a  major  part  of  the  Sonnenberg  congregation 
now  rather  affiliate  with  the  Old  Mennonites.  The  remaining 
communities  in  Ohio  and  Indiana  joined  the  General  Conference 


240  THE  MENNONITES 

group  of  churches  in  the  early  nineties.  In  1878  all  the  Swiss 
congregations  met  at  Sonnenberg  for  a  conference.  The  bishops 
present  at  that  time  were  Ulrich  Sommer,  Christian  Sommer, 
and  Christian  B.  Steiner  from  Wayne  county ;  John  Moser  from 
Allen  county ;  and  Christian  Sprunger  and  Christian  B.  Lehman 
from  Berne,  Indiana. 

In  the  early  thirties  about  one  hundred  Hessian  Mennonites 
from  Hesse-Darmstadt  settled  in  Butler  county,  Ohio,  near  the 
Amish  community  there.  A  little  later  several  families  moved 
from  here  to  Putnam  county,  Illinois,  and  in  the  early  fifties  a 
congregation  was  also  established  in  McClean  county,  Illinois, 
near  the  Rock  Creek  Amish  settlement.  In  all  these  places,  after 
vain  attempts  to  affiliate  with  the  Amish  in  worship  they  organ- 
ized separate  congregations. 

The  Amish  immigration  from  Alsace  and  Lorraine  belongs 
to  this  same  general  period  and  had  its  source  in  the  same 
general  causes,  but  their  story  is  told  in  another  chapter. 

A  little  later,  during  the  forties  and  fifties,  a  number  of 
individuals  and  several  groups  of  Mennonites  from  Bavaria  and 
the  Palatinate  had  arrived.  Individual  Bavarians  settled  with 
the  first  Amish  in  the  early  thirties  in  their  settlements  in  Illinois 
and  Ohio.  In  the  early  forties  small  groups  located  near  what 
is  now  Summerfield,  St.  Clair  county,  and  near  Galena,  Jo  Davis 
county,  Illinois.  Between  1844  and  1856  groups  of  Bavarians, 
and  including  practically  the  entire  congregation  at  Eichstock, 
emigrated  to  America,  most  of  them  locating  in  Lee  county, 
Iowa.  Many  of  them  later  moved  to  Summerfield.  An  early 
congregation  also  was  formed  in  Ashland  county,  Ohio,  near 
Hayesville,  and  later  a  small  congregation  was  also  main- 
tained at  Cleveland.  The  Iowa  congregations  were  located  at 
West  Point  and  Franklin  Prairie.  Some  of  the  Ohio  congre- 
gations have  since  become  extinct,  but  the  Summerfield  and 
West  Point  congregations  both  became  important  charter  mem- 
bers of  the  General  Conference  movement  in  the  early  sixties. 
Among  typical  names  of  this  group  of  immigrants  are  Krehbiel, 
Pletscher,  Baer,  Leisy,  Weber,  Ellenberger,  Eyman,  Ruth,  Vogt, 
Risser,  Kramer,  Schmidt,  Hirschler,  etc. 


THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY  241 

The  small  group  of  Dutch  Mennonites  who  left  Holland  in 
1853  to  escape  military  service,  and  settled  in  Elkhart  county, 
Indiana,  has  already  been  mentioned. 

During  and  after  the  Civil  war  there  was  no  further  immi- 
gration in  any  appreciable  numbers  except  perhaps  individuals 
here  and  there  who  had  friends  and  relatives  here,  until  1873, 
when  the  extensive  Russian  immigration  began. 

As  to  the  number  of  Swiss  and  Germans  who  came  from 
these  regions  to  America  during  the  period  above  mentioned  it 
is  difficult  to  say,  since  there  are  no  statistics  whatsoever.  Judg- 
ing, however,  from  the  present  descendants  of  all  these  immi- 
grants the  following  guess  is  perhaps  not  very  far  wrong.  Esti- 
mating that  the  population  doubles  itself  every  generation,  a  con- 
servative estimate  for  German  Mennonites,  the  entire  number 
of  the  immigrant  population  was  somewhere  near  three  thousand, 
distributed  as  follows, — Amish,  1,500;  Swiss,  1,200;  Bavarians 
and  Palatinates,  200;  and  Hessians,  150. 

Church  Divisions 

The  Mennonites  of  America  as  well  as  those  of  Europe  have 
been  unusually  susceptible  to  church  divisions.  For  this  there 
are  several  reasons.  In  the  first  place  the  Mennonite  faith  has 
always  fostered  an  extreme  individualism.  This  spirit  may 
make  for  strength  of  character,  but  at  the  expense  of  uniformity 
often.  In  the  second  place,  the  congregational  form  of  church 
government  and  the  lack  of  regular  unifying  conferences  per- 
mitted scattered  congregations  to  develop  certain  slight  differ- 
ences which  later  presented  points  of  dispute  when  uniformity 
of  action  was  desired  for  any  particular  purpose.  Mennonites 
as  a  class  were  rural  people,  coming  from  the  humble  and  simple 
walks  of  life,  and  not  trained  to  subordinate  non-essentials  to 
the  broader  and  more  important  interests  of  life.  Several  divi- 
sions, too,  were  caused  by  the  pure  stubbornness  of  certain  self- 
willed  individuals  of  a  quarrelsome  disposition. 

At  the  time  of  the  first  American  immigration  there  were 
two  branches  of  the  church — the  Amish  and  the  main  body  of 
Mennonites.     The  story  of  nineteenth  century  Amish  divisions 


242 


THE  MENNONITES 


THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY  243 

has  been  told  in  another  chapter.  The  immigrants  among  the 
nineteenth  century  Mennonites,  too — Hessians,  Bavarians,  and 
Swiss — founded  independent  groups  and  for  a  time  did  not  affili- 
ate with  any  of  the  American  groups,  although  later  nearly  all 
of  them  joined  the  General  Conference  movement.  It  remains 
here  to  speak  of  the  divisions  among  the  Pennsylvania  Mennon- 
ites and  their  descendants. 

The  first  division  in  the  Pennsylvania  church  in  1775,  that 
led  by  Christian  Funk  over  the  question  of  paying  the  war  tax, 
has  already  been  discussed. 

The  Reformed  Mennonites 

The  second  division  occurred  in  Lancaster  county  in  1812, 
resulting  in  the  organization  of  what  is  now  known  as  the  Re- 
formed Mennonites.  The  founder  of  this  sect  was  John  Herr, 
never  a  Mennonite  himself,  but  the  son  of  Francis  Herr,  a  Men- 
nonite  minister  who  had  been  expelled  from  the  church  on  the 
alleged  ground  of  irregularities  arising  out  of  a  horse  trade. 
Francis  Herr,  together  with  several  of  his  friends,  also  ex-Men- 
nonites,  held  religious  meetings  in  his  own  house  for  some  time 
after  that.  Upon  his  death  his  son  John  Herr  took  up  his  cause, 
and  becoming  "convicted  of  sin,"  attended  the  meetings  of  his 
father's  associates.  He  finally  had  himself  baptized  by  one  of 
these  associates,  whom  he  in  turn  rebaptized.  Several  others 
were  added  to  the  group,  and  John  Herr  was  soon  elected  bishop. 
Thus  was  begun  the  sect  which  soon  assumed  the  name  of  Re- 
formed Mennonites. 

In  numerous  controversial  pamphlets  written  soon  after,  the 
old  church  was  charged  with  being  dead,  corrupt  and  worldly. 
What  Herr  and  his  associates  meant  by  these  terms  soon  became 
clear  by  the  practises  they  adopted  soon  after.  In  the  main  the 
fundamental  doctrines  of  the  Mennonite  church  were  retained, 
but  in  a  few  questions  of  practise  they  carried  their  principles 
to  extreme  lengths.  They  are  still  extremely  exclusive  in  their 
religious  affiliations.  All  those  not  of  their  faith  are  of  the 
"world."  Like  the  New  Amish  of  Illinois  they  refuse  to  attend 
religious  services  of  any  sort  if  conducted  by  a  minister  of  an- 


244  THE  MENNONITES 

other  faith.  The  Ban  and  Avoidance  are  rigidly  applied.  They 
are  severely  plain  in  their  dress,  and  discard  all  unnecessary 
adornment  in  their  houses  or  on  their  persons  as  vain  or  sinful. 
They  have  grown  slowly,  and  have  not  even  held  their  own 
children.  Many  of  the  children  do  not  join  the  church  of  their 
parents,  and  being  taught  that  all  other  churches  are  of  the  devil, 
they  frequently  refuse  to  join  any.  Their  stronghold  is  still  in 
Lancaster  county,  but  they  have  a  few  scattered  congregations 
in  Ohio,  Illinois,  Michigan  and  Ontario.  Their  influence  has 
been  small,  although  in  Lancaster  county  there  was  often  much 
bitter  feeling  for  many  years  between  the  "old"  and  the  "new" 
Mennonites.  The  entire  membership  today  is  scarcely  over  one 
thousand. 

The  Oberholtzer  Schism 

The  next  church  controversy,  commonly  spoken  of  as  the 
Oberholtzer  division,  began  in  Montgomery  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, in  1847.  The  Mennonite  church  in  this  region  at  this 
time  was  still  ultra-conservative  on  all  questions  pertaining  to 
religious,  as  well  as  secular,  customs  and  practises.  Protesting 
against  many  of  these  severe  customs,  many  of  which  have  since 
been  discarded  by  the  old  church,  was  a  small  group  of  liberals 
throughout  the  Franconia  district  led  by  a  young  minister  by 
the  name  of  John  H.  Oberholtzer.  Oberholtzer  was  a  young 
school  teacher  and  minister,  better  educated  and  of  a  more  pro- 
gressive spirit  than  most  of  his  older  brethren  of  the  "bench." 
His  troubles  began  soon  after  he  entered  the  ministry.  He  pro- 
tested especially  against  the  wearing  of  the  so-called  minister's 
"plain"  coat  which  was  collarless  and  of  a  prescribed  cut,  on  the 
ground  that  the  Mennonite  creed  did  not  specify  the  cut  of  a 
minister's  coat.  Practise,  however,  was  almost  unanimous  for 
the  conventional  coat  among  the  preachers.  Oberholtzer  after 
some  dispute  appeared  in  the  coat  and  the  matter  seemed  to  be 
settled,  but  in  1847,  when  he  asked  the  Conference  to  adopt  a 
written  constitution  in  order  that  conference  proceedings  might 
be  conducted  more  systematically  his  request  was  refused,  and  a 
new  quarrel  arose. 


THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY  245 

As  a  result  of  these  and  other  differences  of  opinion,  which 
were  mere  surface  indications  of  more  fundamental  differences, 
Oberholtzer  and  fifteen  other  ministers,  who  evidently  were  out 
of  sympathy  with  the  conservative  view  of  the  majority,  with- 
drew from  the  Conference,  and  at  the  same  time,  too,  were  ex- 
pelled in  turn  by  the  Conference.  On  October  28,  1847,  these 
sixteen  ministers,  a  number  of  them  carrying  their  congregations 
with  them,  met  in  the  old  Skippack  meeting  house  and  organized 
a  new  conference. 

That  the  liberal  element  was  quite  strong  throughout  Fran- 
conia  was  shown  by  the  fact  that  a  number  of  the  congregations 
went  over  bodily  to  the  new  organization.  In  others  the  congre- 
gations were  divided.  The  new  party  soon  adopted  a  decidedly 
more  liberal  church  policy  than  that  in  practice  in  the  main 
church  at  the  time.  They  declared  in  favor  of  open  communion, 
and  a  liberal  interpretation  of  the  Ban.  Inter-marriage  with  other 
denominations  was  permitted,  and  soon  a  salaried  ministry  was 
inaugurated.  These  new  practises  show  that  the  differences  be- 
tween the  two  factions  was  deeper  than  a  difference  of  opinion  as 
to  the  cut  of  a  coat  or  the  adoption  of  an  improved  church  con- 
stitution. These  "Oberholtzer"  churches  later  became  charter 
members  of  the  General  Conference  movement,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  several  that  later  withdrew  to  form  another  small  inde- 
pendent group — the  Evangelical  Mennonites  in  1853. 

The  Holdeman  Faction 

In  1858  John  Holdeman,  a  layman  in  the  Old  Mennonite 
church  of  Wayne  county,  Ohio,  ambitious  to  preach,  but  despair- 
ing of  being  called  to  the  ministry  through  the  uncertain  chances 
of  the  lot,  decided  to  preach  without  the  conventional  call.  He 
pretended  to  be  guided  in  his  course  of  action  by  visions  and 
dreams  in  one  of  which  he  claimed  to  find  a  call  to  preach.  He 
therefore  began  to  hold  meetings  in  his  own  house,  and  secured 
a  few  followers  including  members  of  his  own  family.  Like 
Herr  before  him,  he  took  up  his  pen  in  defence  of  his  own  views 
and  became  a  prolific  writer.  The  old  church  he  maintained  had 
departed  from  the  truth,  and  his  own  congregation  was  now  the 


246  THE  MENNONITES 

true  church  of  God,  which  had  maintained  the  lineage  of  the 
saints  from  the  days  of  the  Apostles.  His  own  small  following 
which  he  now  called  the  "Church  of  God  in  Christ"  grew  slowly 
in  numbers.  By  1865  his  congregation  consisted  of  but  twenty 
members.  It  has  since  grown,  however,  especially  in  Kansas, 
Manitoba  and  other  western  states  among  the  Russian  Mennon- 
ites.  The  present  membership  is  about  fifteen  hundred.  They 
differ  little  from  other  Mennonites  in  their  fundamental  beliefs. 
Among  the  distinctive  features  introduced  by  Holdeman  was 
objection  to  the  "taking  of  usury,"  and  the  "laying  on  of  hands" 
after  baptism. 

The  Wisler  Mennonites 

The  next  division  began  in  the  Yellow  Creek  congregation 
in  Elkhart  county,  Indiana.  Among  the  pioneer  settlers  in  this 
community  was  Bishop  Jacob  Wisler  from  Ohio,  a  man  devoted 
to  the  principles  of  the  church,  but  exceedingly  conservative  by 
nature,  and  opposed  to  the  introduction  of  all  new  things,  such 
as  English  preaching,  four  part  singing,  Sunday  schools,  evening 
meetings,  protracted  meetings,  etc.  In  fact  every  slightest  de- 
parture from  the  ways  of  the  fathers  was  placed  under  the  ban 
by  Wisler  and  a  considerable  part  of  his  congregation.  A  num- 
ber of  the  more  progressive  members  of  the  congregation,  how- 
ever, under  the  leadership  of  Daniel  Brenneman,  a  fellow  minis- 
ter, demanded  a  more  progressive  policy.  This  Wisler  opposed, 
and  threatened  with  excommunication  those  who  advocated  the 
introduction  of  the  new  methods  of  church  work.  Finally  the 
latter's  arbitrary  method  of  enforcing  his  views  resulted 
in  a  church  trial  in  1870,  in  which  Wisler  was  deprived  of  his 
office.  He  and  those  who  believed  as  he  did  then  organized  a 
new  congregation. 

The  same  attempts  to  keep  the  church  within  narrow  bounds 
were  made  by  other  ultra-conservative  men  in  other  sections  of 
the  country.  All  of  these  finding  themselves  weak  in  number, 
but  akin  in  faith,  finally  affiliated  themselves  into  one  body.  The 
first  contingent  to  join  Wisler's  group  was  a  band  of  conservatives 
in  Medina  county,  Ohio.    A  little  later,  in  1886,  several  groups  of 


THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY  247 

conservatives  in  Woolwich  township,  Waterloo  county,  Ontario 
opposing  English  preaching,  Sunday  schools,  evening  meetings, 
"falling"  top-buggies,  and  other  evidences  of  modernism  among 
the  Mennonites  of  that  community,  withdrew  from  the  church 
and  set  up  a  separate  organization.  These  "Woolwichers"  as  they 
are  locally  called,  soon  allied  themselves  with  the  Indiana  Wis- 
lerites.  A  second  group  was  led  by  Bishop  Jonas  Martin  of  the 
Weaverland  congregation  in  Lancaster  county,  Pennsylvania, 
who  in  1893  because  of  a  quarrel  over  a  new  pulpit  recently 
installed  into  his  church,  withdrew  from  the  church  and  posing 
as  a  conservative  on  other  questions  retained  one-third  of  his 
foimer  congregation.  The  third  group  consisted  of  a  conserva- 
tive Virginia  congregation  in  Rockingham  county  of  about  one 
hundred  members  which  allied  itself  with  the  Martinites  of  Penn- 
sylvania. 

These  four  original  groups  of  Wislerites,  Woolwichers,  and 
Pennsylvania  and  Virginia  Martinites  now  count  up  all  told  about 
six  hundred  members  throughout  Indiana,  Pennsylvania,  Vir- 
ginia, Michigan  and  Ontario.  They  are  all  still  ultra-conserva- 
tive in  dress,  forms  of  worship,  and  social  customs  and  are  very 
slow  to  adopt  new  ideas.  With  the  exception  that  they  do  not 
wear  hooks  and  eyes  nor  the  home  made  coats  they  are  similar 
to  the  Old  Order  Amish  in  their  general  spirit  and  might  well  be 
called  the  "Old  Order"  Mennonites. 

The  Mennonite  Brethren  in  Christ 

The  Mennonite  Brethren  in  Christ  branch  is  the  result  of  a 
series  of  amalgamations  of  several  small  kindred  groups  of  Men- 
nonites, who  at  different  times  had  seceded  from  the  main  body, 
largely  for  similar  reasons. 

The  Mennonites  during  the  first  half  of  the  last  century  in  the 
main  were  never  given  over  to  much  emotionalism.  They  took 
their  religion  seriously  as  a  normal  growth,  often  rather  as  a 
matter  of  fact.  Children  were  taught  in  the  ways  of  the  church. 
In  course  of  time  most  of  them  as  a  result  of  this  teaching  came 
to  a  realization  of  the  need  of  a  personal  Savior  in  their  lives. 
The  worship  consisted  of  formal  services,  and  no  attempts  were 


248  THE  MENNONITES 

made  to  stir  up  the  depths  of  individual  religious  feeling.  Some 
fifty  or  sixty  years  ago,  however,  there  appeared  the  conviction 
in  different  localities  that  true  religion  consisted  in  a  more  vital 
experience  and  a  more  conscious  and  definite  conviction  of  sin- 
fulness than  seemed  to  prevail  among  the  church  members  of 
the  time,  and  especially  that  it  demanded  a  more  persistent  cul- 
tivation of  the  religious  emotions  through  prayer  meetings  and 
evangelistic  efforts.  Although  these  doctrines  were  not  denied, 
the  practises  which  resulted  from  them  were  contrary  to  the 
customs  of  the  church  at  that  time.  The  first  to  attempt  to  put 
these  ideas  into  practice  were  a  group  of  Mennonites  in  Lehigh 
county,  Pennsylvania,  led  by  William  Gehman,  a  minister  in  one 
of  the  Oberholtzer  churches.  In  1857  because  they  advocated 
and  practised  prayer  meetings  contrary  to  the  advice  of  the 
church  authorities  these  were  expelled.  They  thereupon  formed 
a  new  organization  and  called  themselves  "Evangelical  Mennon- 
ites." Among  the  doctrines  stressed  by  the  new  body  were  the 
need  of  a  more  definite  religious  experience,  more  evangelism,  and 
prayer  meetings. 

New  Mennonites  was  the  name  applied  to  several  groups  of 
Mennonites  in  Waterloo  county,  Ontario,  who  in  the  fifties  and 
early  sixties  had  withdrawn  from  the  old  church  because  of  op- 
position on  the  part  of  the  latter  to  greater  evangelistic  efforts. 
Among  the  leaders  of  the  new  movement  was  Daniel  Hoch,  at 
one  time  interested  with  Oberholtzer  in  the  unification  plans 
which  later  developed  into  the  General  Conference. 

The  Reformed  Mennonites  arose  from  the  same  demand  for 
prayer  meetings  in  the  Port  Elgin  congregation  in  Bruce  county, 
Ontario  led  by  Solomon  Eby.  In  1871,  Eby  and  his  congregation 
were  expelled  because  of  countenancing  these  meetings  contrary 
to  the  rules  of  the  church.  The  movement  in  the  meantime  had 
spread  to  Waterloo  county,  and  also  to  Elkhart  county,  Indiana, 
where  Daniel  Brenneman  led  a  similar  movement  for  more  ag- 
gressive evangelization  work  in  the  Yellow  Creek  congregation, 
for  which  he  was  expelled.  In  1874,  the  Indiana  and  Canada 
groups  formed  an  organization  called  the  Reformed  Mennonites. 

The  fourth  group  was  the  Brethren  in  Christ  who  as  early 


THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY  249 

as  1838,  had  seceded  for  similar  reasons  from  the  River  Brethren, 
who  in  turn  had  originally  sprung  from  the  Mennonite  body 
during  the  preceding  century. 

These  four  small  bodies  all  originally  either  directly  or  in- 
directly from  the  Mennonite  church,  with  similar  beliefs,  largely 
by  a  series  of  amalgamations  united  to  form  the  Mennonite 
Brethren  in  Christ  organization. 

The  first  union  occurred  in  1875  in  Waterloo  county,  Ontario 
when  the  New  Mennonites  and  the  Reformed  Mennonites  con- 
solidated under  the  name  of  United  Mennonites.  In  1879,  the 
United  Mennonites  joined  with  the  Evangelical  Mennonites  to 
form  the  Evangelical  United  Mennonites.  The  latter  in  turn  in 
1883  near  Jamton,  Ohio,  united  with  the  Brethren  in  Christ  to 
form  the  present  Mennonite  Brethren  in  Christ. 

This  branch  of  the  Mennonite  denomination  holds  to  prac- 
tically all  of  the  characteristic  doctrines  of  the  faith.  As  a  re- 
sult of  the  amalgamation  of  four  different  groups,  however,  all 
of  which  in  course  of  time  developed  distinctive  practises,  the 
Mennonite  Brethren  now  lay  stress  on  a  number  of  distinguish- 
ing doctrines,  including  immersion,  open  communion,  sanctifica- 
tion  as  a  definite  work  of  grace,  pre-millenialism,  and  feet-wash- 
ing. They  were  among  the  first  of  the  Mennonite  bodies  to  in- 
clude in  their  discipline  a  recommendation  against  the  use  of 
tobacco  and  strong  drink.  They  insist  upon  a  thorough  con- 
version and  a  definite  conviction  of  sin,  as  well  as  a  decided 
assurance  of  salvation  as  a  condition  to  membership.  In  their 
camp  meetings  they  are  inclined  to  give  free  play  to  their  feel- 
ings, both  of  joy  and  agony  of  soul. 

They  are  decidedly  an  evangelistic  and  missionary  church. 
No  other  branch  has  reached  out  into  non-Mennonite  fields  for 
its  membership  as  widely  as  the  Mennonite  Brethren.  One  finds 
fewer  of  the  characteristic  old  time  Mennonite  names  among  them 
than  among  other  branches.  This  fact  has  brought  with  it  special 
problems  also.  During  the  recent  war  the  principle  of  non-re- 
sistance was  much  more  difficult  to  maintain  in  Canada  and  Mich- 
igan where  there  was  a  strong  membership  of  non-Mennonite 
ancestry  than  in  Indiana  where  the  opposite  was  true. 


250 


THE  MENNONITES 


THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY  251 

They  are  among  the  best  organized  of  all  the  branches,  being 
semi-episcopal  in  their  organization.  The  highest  administrative 
officials  are  presiding  elders  elected  annually  over  districts  or 
conferences.  Ministers  are  licensed  to  preach  upon  satisfactory 
evidence  that  they  have  a  definite  call  to  that  service.  The 
Gospel  Banner,  edited  by  J.  A.  Huffman  of  Bluffton,  Ohio,  is  the 
official  organ.  The  church  is  now  divided  into  seven  conference 
districts.  A  general  conference  is  held  quadrennially.  In  1916, 
the  entire  membership  in  the  United  States  and  Canada  was 
seven  thousand,  five  hundred  and  fifty. 

The  Old  Mennonites 

The  list  of  divisions  above  described  leaves  the  main  trunk 
of  the  American  Mennonites  who  in  this  treatise  for  convenience 
are  called  Old  Mennonites.  The  leaders  of  this  branch  of  the 
church  object  to  the  prefix  "old,"  and  insist  that  since  they  are 
the  main  body  from  which  all  the  others  departed  they  are 
entitled  to  the  simple  term  "Mennonite"  on  the  ground  that  they 
are  the  real  descendants  of  the  church  founded  by  Menno  Simons. 
Organically  and  numerically  they  are  perhaps  entitled  to  this 
distinction,  but  since  a  writer  must  adopt  some  method  of  dis- 
tinguishing different  groups  either  by  name  or  number  this  larger 
body  is  here  referred  to  as  Old  Mennonites.  They  speak  of  them- 
selves officially,  however,  simply  as  Mennonites.  To  make  the 
confusion  worse  this  branch,  together  with  the  Amish-Mennon- 
ites  are  now  affiliated  in  a  General  Conference,  which  is  some- 
times confused  in  the  literature  with  the  General  Conference  of 
Mennonites  of  North  America.  To  distinguish  between  the  two 
the  latter  is  sometimes  referred  to  when  both  are  under  considera- 
tion as  General  Conference  A,  while  the  former  is  General  Con- 
ference B.  These  titles  are  merely  for  convenience  and  are  not 
official. 

The  Old  Mennonites  are  numerically  by  far  the  strongest 
division  of  the  denomination.  Their  Year  Book  for  1918  gives 
a  membership  in  the  United  States  and  Canada  of  28,000,  about 
one-third  of  which  is  massed  together  in  one  large  settlement  in 
Lancaster  county,  Pennsylvania,  the  original  home  of  the  Palatin- 


252  THE  MENNONITES 

ate  immigrants.  They  are  still  quite  conservative  on  all  matters 
of  church  policy,  and  the  leaders  lay  strong  emphasis  on  the  doc- 
trine of  non-conformity  to  the  world.  Dress  regulations  are  still 
quite  rigid,  especially  for  the  women,  who  are  all  required  to 
wear  bonnets  instead  of  hats. 

This  branch  of  the  church  has  little  religious  affiliation  with 
the  other  branches.  It  had  no  representatives  at  the  Carlock  All- 
Mennonite  Convention  in  1917.  They  are  not  even  entirely 
united  among  themselves.  The  Lancaster  County  Conference 
has  little  organic  connection  with  the  churches  farther  west,  and 
does  not  recognize  the  General  Conference  B  referred  to  above. 
Ministers  were  formerly  selected  by  lot,  but  in  many  places  now 
this  is  no  longer  the  prevailing  method.  Ministers  are  still  for 
the  most  part  untrained  for  their  work,  but  the  demand  for  an 
educated  ministry  is  growing.  None  receive  a  salary.  Both  the 
missionary  and  educational  interests  of  the  church  are  making 
progress.  Last  year  this  branch  of  the  church  together  with 
the  Amish-Mennonites  collected  over  one-half  million  dollars  for 
missionary,  educational  and  war  reconstruction  work.  The 
Gospel  Herald  published  at  Scottdale,  Pennsylvania,  with  a  cir- 
culation of  about  10,000,  more  than  that  of  all  other  Mennonite 
periodicals  combined,  is  the  official  organ  of  the  Old  Mennonite 
and  the  Amish-Mennonite  branches. 


DAVID  GOERTZ 


THE  IMMIGRATION  FROM  RUSSIA  253 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

THE  IMMIGRATION  FROM  RUSSIA 
1873-1880 

The  Russian  background  of  the  German-Russian  Mennonite 
exodus  to  America  in  the  seventies  has  been  discussed  elsewhere 
in  this  book,  and  only  the  American  phase  of  the  movement  need 
be  described  here.  After  considering  both  South  America  and 
Africa,  and  sending  an  investigating  commission  to  Siberia, 
North  America  was  finally  agreed  upon  by  those  who  had  de- 
cided to  leave  Russia  as  affording  the  best  prospects  for  future 
homes.  As  early  as  1872  and  1873  several  individuals  and  small 
groups  had  come  to  the  United  States  on  prospecting  tours,  or  to 
remain  here.  Among  the  first  to  arrive  was  young  Bernhard 
Warkentin,  later  a  prominent  business  man  in  Newton,  Kansas, 
who  came  with  several  others  in  1872.  He  was  followed  in  1873 
by  Cornelius  Jansen,  former  Prussian  consul  at  Berdiansk,  who 
was  given  seven  days  to  leave  Russia  never  to  return  because  of 
his  connection  with  the  emigration  agitation,  and  David  Goerz 
and  his  family  later  a  prominent  leader  among  his  people.  These 
three  men  soon  took  a  leading  part  in  everything  that  affected  the 
welfare  of  their  fellow-immigrants,  and  especially  in  directing 
them  to  their  new  homes  on  the  western  prairies. 

In  the  same  year  also  came  a  special  delegation  of  twelve 
men,  including  one  member  from  West  Prussia,  from  such  com- 
munities as  were  interested  in  emigrating  to  investigate  suitable 
locations  for  prospective  homes.  This  committee  made  a  thor- 
ough inspection  of  the  unsettled  lands  in  Manitoba,  Dakota,  Min- 
nesota, Kansas,  Nebraska  and  Texas,  where  it  still  would  be  pos- 
sible to  secure  cheap  lands  in  areas  large  enough  to  form  exten- 
sive, compact  settlements ;  for  they  had  been  instructed  by  their 
Russian  brethren  to  select  regions  where  they  might  locate  in 


254  THE  MENNONITES 

compact,  and  preferably  closed  communities.  Returning  to  Rus- 
sia the  same  fall,  various  members  reported  favorably  on  dif- 
ferent regions. 

In  the  meantime,  throughout  the  Mennonite  settlements  pros- 
pective emigrants  were  selling  their  property  often  at  a  consider- 
able sacrifice,  preparatory  to  the  long  journey  to  the  land  of 
promise. 

Although  the  great  exodus  from  the  two  largest  colonies  did 
not  begin  until  early  in  the  summer  of  1874,  several  families  had 
arrived  here  in  the  fall  of  1873  and  had  begun  settlements  in 
Kansas,  Dakota  and  Minnesota.  From  the  files  of  the  Herald 
of  Truth  we  learn  that  by  January,  1874,  there  were  ten  or  twelve 
families  near  Mountain  Lake,  Minnesota,  and  several  more  in 
Marion  and  McPherson  counties,  Kansas,  which  soon  became  one 
of  the  centers  of  large  settlements.  In  the  same  issue  it  was 
announced  that  one  thousand  families  were  to  start  for  America 
in  April.  By  May  the  stream  had  begun.  The  issue  of  the  Her- 
ald for  May  5,  announced  the  arrival  of  the  fifty-eight  Mennonites 
from  Poland.  By  May  20,  fifty  more  Poles  (Volhynians)  had 
arrived  and  located  at  Yankton,  Dakota.  The  June  issue  reported 
that  forty  more  had  been  brought  by  William  Ewert,  the  Prus- 
sian member  of  the  Committee  of  Twelve,  to  Summerfield,  Illi- 
nois, from  which  place  they  soon  found  their  way  to  new  homes 
in  Kansas.  On  July  8,  seven  more  families  stopped  at  Summer- 
field  enroute  to  Kansas. 

In  the  meantime  the  American  Mennonites  were  busy  organ- 
izing emergency  committees  to  provide  for  the  temporary  needs 
of  the  new  arrivals,  and  to  help  them  to  their  new  western  homes. 
Some  of  the  immigrants  were  rich,  others  well-to-do,  but  the 
large  majority  were  poor  and  some  extremely  so.  Many  of  these 
had  to  be  provided  with  means  to  begin  their  life  on  the  raw 
prairies  and  had  to  be  temporarily  supported. 

In  1873,  the  Western  District  Conference  largely  through 
the  influence  of  Rev.  Christian  Krehbiel  of  Summerfield  had 
appointed  a  committee  to  collect  money  for  such  of  the  immi- 
grants as  might  need  help,  and  to  direct  them  to  their  new  settle- 
ments.   About  the  same  time  John  F.  Funk  of  Elkhart,  Indiana, 


THE  IMMIGRATION  FROM  RU(SSIA  255 

secured  a  similar  organization  among  the  Old  Mennonites  of  the 
middle  West.  These  two  organizations  were  soon  consolidated 
into  the  Mennonite  Board  of  Guardians,  with  Christian  Krehbiel 
as  president ;  David  Goerz,  as  secretary ;  John  F.  Funk,  treas- 
urer; and  Bernhard  Warkentin,  agent.  The  Mennonites  of  Eastern 
Pennsylvania  organized  a  special  committee,  as  did  also  the 
Canadian  church  under  the  leadership  of  J.  Y.  Schantz  of  Berlin, 
Ontario.  These  organizations  all  did  valuable  service  in  provi- 
ding for  the  needs  and  conveniences  of  the  Russians  while  they 
were  becoming  settled.  It  is  estimated  that  about  $100,000  was 
collected  and  spent  for  this  work,  some  of  which  was  tendered 
as  a  loan  and  later  repaid.  In  addition  to  this  sum  there  were 
many  individual  loans,  and  in  Manitoba  the  Canadian  Govern- 
ment advanced  a  loan  of  $96,400  at  six  per  cent,  to  prospective 
settlers  upon  security  furnished  by  Ontario  Mennonites,  all  of 
which  in  due  time  was  paid  back. 

Railroad  companies  and  State  Immigration  departments  that 
had  vast  stretches  of  unoccupied  lands  still  awaiting  settlement 
took  a  lively  interest  in  the  coming  of  thousands  of  industrious 
European  farmers.  The  Canadian  Government  passed  a  law 
offering  each  settler  of  twenty-one  years  of  age  and  over  a  free 
homestead  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres,  with  an  option  on 
another  three-quarters  of  a  section  at  one  dollar  per  acre  in  the 
Province  of  Manitoba.  To  the  Mennonites  full  religious  rights 
were  granted  with  exclusive  control  over  their  schools,  and  entire 
military  exemption.  Some  twenty-six  townships  of  land  were 
finally  reserved  for  the  exclusive  use  of  the  Mennonites. 

In  Kansas,  the  Atchison,  Topeka  and  Santa  Fe  Railroad 
Company,  aided  by  the  State  Immigration  Department,  secured 
the  passage  of  a  similar  law  exempting  the  future  colonists  from 
the  State  militia  service.  This  law  was  confirmed  as  late  as  1915. 
Vast  stretches  of  railroad  land  was  offered  at  from  $2.50  to  $5.00 
per  acre.  So  active  was  the  Santa  Fe  Company  in  directing  the 
immigrants  to  Kansas  that  they  sent  their  agent,  C.  B.  Schmidt, 
to  the  Russian  colonies  for  the  purpose  of  presenting  early  the 
claims  of  the  Sunflower  State.  The  company  even  chartered  a 
Red  Star  ocean  steamer  which  was  sent  to  the  Black  Sea  for  a 


256  THE  MENNONITES 

shipload  of  Mennonite  household  goods  and  farm  implements. 
These  goods  were  brought  to  New  York,  and  thence  by  rail  to 
Kansas  all  free  of  charge  to  the  colonists.  Influential  men  among 
the  immigrants  and  members  of  the  various  committees  were 
granted  passes  over  the  road.  Groups  of  immigrants  as  they 
arrived  at  the  Atlantic  ports  were  carried  west  in  special  trains. 
The  Chicago,  Burlington  and  Quincy  Railroad  Company  was 
equally  active  in  Nebraska,  but  the  Santa  Fe  secured  the  largest 
number  of  settlers  for  Kansas. 

Aided  and  directed  by  these  various  organizations,  the  immi- 
grants continued  to  find  their  way  to  the  western  settlements  by 
the  hundreds  throughout  the  summer  and  autumn  of  1874.  The 
Herald  reports  that  on  July  18,  eighty  families  had  reached  Bur- 
lington, Iowa,  enroute  to  Nebraska.  The  next  day,  thirty  arrived 
from  the  Crimea  under  the  leadership  of  their  elder,  Wiebe,  at 
Elkhart,  Indiana,  where  they  remained  for  the  night  in  the  Men- 
nonite meeting  house  at  that  place,  and  the  next  day  left — some 
for  Kansas,  and  others  for  Yankton,  Dakota.  The  total  number 
of  arrivals  at  the  harbor  of  New  York  by  July  8,  was  six  hun- 
dred. At  the  same  time  too,  many  had  arrived  at  Toronto,  Can- 
ada, on  their  way  to  Manitoba.  On  July  20,  three  hundred  and 
seventy  are  reported,  and  on  July  30,  two  hundred  and  ninety 
more.  The  next  day  five  hundred  and  four  left  for  Manitoba. 
And  thus  the  steady  stream  continued  throughout  all  the  summer 
and  fall.  An  account  given  in  November,  1874,  shows  that  the 
Mennonite  Board  of  Guardians  reported  from  the  Inman  line  the 
arrival  of  two  hundred  families.  The  Pennsylvania  Aid  Commit- 
tee reported  thirty-five  families  on  the  Hamburg  line.  The  Ca- 
nadian committee  reported  the  arrival  of  two  hundred  and  thirty 
by  way  of  the  Allan  line  for  the  year.  The  total  estimate  for  all 
the  settlements  for  the  year  was  about  twelve  hundred  families, 
with  the  prospect  that  one  thousand  families  would  follow  in 
1875.  And  the  latter  year  was  largely  a  repetition  of  the  first. 
Whole  vessels  were  chartered  by  the  immigrants.  In  December, 
1874,  seven  hundred  had  arrived  in  the  "Fatherland,"  and  four 
hundred  in  the  "Abbotsford."  On  July  25,  1875,  the  "Nether- 
lands" steamed  up  to  the  dock  at  New  York  with  five  hundred 


PQ 


THE  IMMIGRATION  FROM  RUSSIA  257 

and  fifty  Mennonites  on  board,  and  soon  after  the  "Nevada" 
unloaded  five  hundred  and  seventy. 

By  the  fall  of  1875,  the  greatest  rush  was  over,  but  small 
bands  of  Mennonites  continued  to  come  up  to  1880  and  several 
even  later.  By  August,  1879,  the  Herald  estimates  that  in  Mani- 
toba alone  there  were  seven  thousand  three  hundred  and  eighty- 
three  Mennonites.  The  number  in  the  United  States — Kansas, 
Nebraska,  Dakota  and  Minnesota  was  somewhat  larger.  The 
exact  total  number  in  America  by  1880  is  conjectural,  since 
accurate  statistics  are  not  available.  All  those  who  are  in  the 
best  position  to  know  are  agreed  that  more  came  to  the  United 
States  than  to  Manitoba,  and  the  present  statistics  on  the  Men- 
nonite  population  on  both  sides  of  the  line  would  bear  out  that 
impression.  The  difference,  however,  was  not  as  great  as  many 
f-hink.  Wedel's  estimate  that  only  two  hundred  and  thirty  fami- 
lies settled  in  Manitoba  as  against  nearly  one  thousand  in  the 
United  States  is  certainly  not  correct.  Indeed  both  his  estimates 
of  twelve  hundred  families,  or  ten  thousand  souls  for  all  America 
during  the  emigration  period  are  undoubtedly  too  low.  His 
twelve  hundred  families  evidently  are  meant  to  cover  the  end  of 
the  first  year's  immigration  in  1874  and  not  the  entire  period  up 
to  1880.  Judging  from  the  reports  in  the  Herald  of  Truth  at  the 
time,  and  from  the  present  number  (about  67,000)  almost  equally 
divided  between  the  United  States  and  Canada,  all  descendants 
of  the  first  settlers,  about  one  generation  ago,  it  would  seem 
that  the  original  number  could  not  have  been  less  than  15,000. 

As  already  indicated  these  colonists  came  in  various  groups, 
separated  in  Russia  by  geographical  or  doctrinal  differences. 
Those  from  the  Old  or  Chortitz  colony  and  the  entire  Bergthal 
church  and  a  number  from  the  Fuerstenthal,  two  daughter  col- 
onies of  Chortitz,  located  in  Manitoba.  The  Molotschna  fur- 
nished the  settlers  in  Kansas,  Nebraska  and  other  western  states. 
The  Volhynians  went  to  Dakota  and  Kansas.  The  Huterites 
located  in  Dakota.  Scattered  members  from  all  the  Russian 
colonies  were  found  throughout  all  of  the  United  States  settle- 
ments. Besides  these  geographical  groups,  which  differed  more 
or  less  from  one  another,  there  were  the  different  church  divi- 

9 


258  THE  MENNONITES 

sions  imported  from  Russia,  to  which  were  added  several  new 
ones.  The  most  important  of  these  were  the"Bruedergemeinde." 
"Krimmer  Brueder,"  "Kleine  Gemeinde,"  and  a  small  division 
locally  known  as  the  "Isaac  Peters  Gemeinde."  Frequently  groups 
and  congregations,  or  small  bands  were  led  by  faithful  elders. 
Among  these  bishops  were  Jacob  Buller  of  Hoffnungsau ;  Johann 
Wiebe  of  the  Old  colony  in  Manitoba ;  Gerhard  Wiebe  of  the 
Bergthal  congregation ;  Abraham  Schellenberg  of  the  Brueder- 
gemeinde ;  Jacob  Funk  from  the  Crimea ;  Leonhard  Suderman 
from  Berdiansk ;  William  Ewert  with  the  Prussians ;  Andreas 
Schrag,  leader  of  the  Volhynians ;  Paul  Tschetter  of  the  Hut- 
erites,  and  a  number  of  others. 

With  these  Russians  came  also  a  contingent  of  about  one 
hundred  families  from  West  Prussia  who  settled  near  Beatrice, 
Nebraska  and  near  Newton  and  Emmaus,  Kansas.  In  1873,  also 
a  number  of  the  earlier  settlers  from  the  Palatinate,  who  had 
immigrated  some  years  earlier  to  Iowa  and  Illinois,  located  near 
Halstead  under  the  leadership  of  Christian  Krehbiel. 

Manitoba 

The  Manitoba  settlements,  composed  of  colonists  from  the 
Chortitz,  Bergthal  and  Fuerstenthal  communities  and  a  group 
of  Molotschna  Kleingemeinder,  form  a  group  by  themselves  and 
deserve  a  separate  description.  As  already  stated,  they  were 
granted  by  the  Canadian  Government  two  reserves  (later  in- 
creased to  three)  of  twenty-six  townships,  in  the  fertile  Red 
River  valley  south  of  Winnipeg  in  Manitoba  near  the  Dakota 
line. 

Here  in  large  closed  communities  they  reproduced  with  prac- 
tically no  change  the  life  to  which  they  had  been  accustomed  in 
Russia.  They  were  all  farmers,  but  grouped  themselves  into 
villages  of  from  fifteen  to  thirty  families,  surrounded  by  their 
homesteads.  The  houses  were  built  back  on  each  side  of  a  wide 
street  which  in  course  of  time  became  lined  with  shade  trees. 
Each  village  was  in  a  way  a  self-sufficient  economic  and  civil 
unit,  with  its  school  and  shops.  Each  village  had  a  magistrate 
(Schultz),  and  together  with  others  in  the  colony  was  ruled 


THE  IMMIGRATION  FROM  RUSSIA  259 

over  by  a  Superintendent  (Ober-schultz),  who  directed  the  gen- 
eral secular  affairs  of  the  entire  group  of  villages  composing 
the  different  congregations,  while  an  elder  or  bishop  assisted  by 
a  number  of  untrained  and  unpaid  preachers,  had  charge  of 
spiritual  matters.  This  village  life  has  been  abandoned  in  a 
number  of  places,  but  among  the  Old  colony  people  a  number 
still  exist. 

In  their  religious  customs  and  everyday  practices  most  of  the 
congregations  were  decidedly  conservative.  The  "Old  Coloniers" 
worshiped  in  church  houses  without  paint.  Inside  the  hard 
seats  were  without  backs,  which  did  not  add  to  the  comfort  of 
listening  to  the  long  sermons  of  the  time.  Although  a  number 
of  preachers  were  usually  present  at  every  service  never  more 
than  one  preached.  The  sermon  was  read  from  a  book  and  the 
preacher  seldom  looked  up  at  his  audience  nor  indulged  in  any 
gestures,  nor  in  the  slightest  degree  departed  from  the  practices 
of  the  fathers.  In  dress,  he  as  well  as  the  members,  had  to  con- 
form to  the  established  conventionalities.  White  collars,  shining 
watch  chains  and  bearded  faces  were  forbidden.  To  be  in  good 
standing  and  a  model  example  the  "Old  Colonier"  preacher  was 
to  appear  in  the  pulpit  in  old  style  trousers  tucked  into  high- 
topped  boots.  The  dress  of  the  women,  of  course,  was  equally 
conventional  and  severely  plain. 

The  language  of  the  pulpit  was  the  High  German,  but  that 
of  ordinary  conversation  was  some  dialect  of  the  "Piatt  Deutsch" 
imported  from  Prussia  to  Russia  nearly  a  century  before.  Prayer 
was  offered  in  silence  and  kneeling.  Singing  was  from  an  old 
hymn-book  also  imported  from  their  Prussian  ancestral  homes. 
The  hymns  were  without  notes  and  the  melodies  to  which  they 
were  sung  had  under-gone  wonderful  transformations  as  they 
were  passed  on  down  through  the  generations.  All  sang  in 
unison,  the  singing  of  different  parts  being  forbidden. 

These  old  customs  and  practices  are  still  in  vogue  with  prac- 
tically no  change  in  many  of  the  secluded  communities.  The 
Rhineland  congregation  of  Old  Colonists  of  nearly  two  thou- 
sand members  still  forbids  all  participation  in  such  outside  civil 
or  religious  activities  which  may  take  place  in  the  few  towns 


260  THE  MENNONITES 

which  have  sprung  up  around  the  railway  stations  within  the 
original  settlements.  The  members  are  forbidden  to  participate 
in  business  or  even  to  take  up  their  dwelling  in  one  of  these 
towns,  nor  hold  office  of  any  sort  outside  of  those  directly  con- 
cerned with  their  church  life.  Civil  offices,  modern  clothing, 
modern  houses,  the  English  language,  Sunday-schools,  prayer 
meetings,  higher  schools — all  are  of  the  "world."  They  own 
neither  telephones  nor  automobiles.  The  latter  they  call  "Hell- 
Wagons."  Not  all  the  seven  groups  in  Manitoba  are  quite  so  con- 
servative as  this,  of  course,  but  the  most  liberal  even  would  be 
regarded  as  conservative  by  the  large  body  of  Mennonites  on  this 
side  of  the  Canadian  line.  The  seven  different  groups  at  present 
are  the  Bergthal,  Reinland,  Kleine  Gemeinde,  Sommerfeld,  Hol- 
demans,  Bruderthal  and  Bruedergemeinde.  Religious  affiliation 
between  these  different  groups  there  is  practically  none.  The 
entire  membership  of  all  these  groups  is  over  seven  thousand, 
totaling  over  seventeen  thousand  souls,  with  nearly  fourteen 
thousand  more  in  Saskatchewan  and  five  hundred  in  Alberta, 
most  of  whom  are  the  descendents  of  the  original  Manitoba 
settlers.  A  large  majority  of  all  these  may  still  be  classed  among 
the  conservatives. 

In  the  development  of  the  higher  cultural  life,  the  Manito- 
bans  as  a  whole  have  made  little  progress  except  in  individual 
cases.  Books  are  scarce  and  many  schools  are  poor.  In  their 
early  compact  settlements  the  Provincial  Government  permitted 
them  for  many  years  to  conduct  their  own  schools  with  no  out- 
side supervision.  These  all  began  as  private  schools,  and  it  was 
only  gradually  that  a  number  of  these  were  transformed  into 
public  schools  which  improved  their  character  somewhat.  These 
private  schools  were  taught  at  first  exclusively  in  German  by 
teachers  poorly  equipped.  The  curriculum  was  meager.  Finally 
English  was  introduced  and  both  languages  taught,  bilingual 
teaching  being  permitted  by  the  Manitoba  Government  until  two 
years  ago.  During  the  last  quarter  century,  H.  H.  Ewert,  the 
pioneer  educator  among  his  people  in  Kansas,  has  performed  a 
valuable  service  in  raising  the  educational  standards  of  the  Men- 
nonite  schools  in  Manitoba.  Against  p'reat  discouragements  and 


Gretna  Normal  School,  Manitoba. 


THE  IMMIGRATION  FROM  RUSSIA  261 

with  many  sacrifices  he  has  spent  a  good  part  of  his  life  in 
behalf  of  the  educational  interests  of  his  people.  For  twelve 
years,  1891  to  1903,  he  occupied  the  position  of  Government  in- 
spector of  Mennonite  schools,  during  which  time  he  increased 
the  public  schools  from  a  bare  half  dozen  to  over  forty.  He  was 
also  one  of  the  leading  spirits  in  the  founding  of  the  Gretna 
Normal  school  in  1891,  for  the  training  of  teachers  in  both  the 
private  and  public  schools,  of  which  there  are  now  over  one  hun- 
dred throughout  the  various  settlements.  A  local  disagreement 
some  years  ago  among  some  of  the  school  people  led  to  the 
founding  of  another  school  at  Altona,  which  for  several  years 
was  in  charge  of  Jacob  J.  Balzer,  who  for  over  thirty  years  had 
done  great  service  to  the  educational  cause  of  his  people  at 
Mountain  Lake,  Minnesota.  The  Altona  institution  has  since 
suspended  operations,  however.  Under  a  liberal  educational  law 
permitting  the  use  of  both  German  and  English,  considerable 
progress  has  been  made,  and  English  has  come  to  be  used  more 
and  more.  But  the  recent  law  abolishing  bilingual  teaching 
among  the  Mennonite  public  schools  has  had  an  unfortunate  re- 
sult in  transforming  a  number  of  the  public  school^  into  private 
schools  where  German  was  still  permitted.  If  the  Government 
should  forbid  the  use  of  German  in  all  schools,  as  is  feared,  as 
well  as  in  church  and  other  papers  it  would  undoubtedly  work  a 
temporary  hardship  and  likely  would  not  make  for  an  immediate 
educational  progress.  Since  the  war  is  closed  now,  however,  the 
antagonism  to  the  German  language  will  abate  gradually  and  the 
elimination  of  the  German  in  the  schools  may  not  be  immediately 
adopted  as  a  Governmental  policy  after  all.  It  is  inevitable, 
however,  that  ultimately  the  Government  should  prescribe  and 
enforce  the  use  of  the  English  language  and  provide  for  a  more 
rigid  supervision  of  the  whole  educational  system  among  the 
Mennonites.  The  relation  of  Mennonite  education  to  the  State 
Government  in  Saskatchewan  is  in  the  main  similar  to  that  in 
Manitoba.  Here  too,  David  Toews,  head  of  the  Rosthern  school 
is  doing  an  educational  work  among  the  Mennonites  similar  to 
that  of  H.  H.  Ewert.  There  are  at  present  still  about  eighty 
private  schools  in  Manitoba  and  thirty  district  schools,  while  in 


262  THE  MENNONITES 

Saskatchewan  there  are  thirty  private  schools  and  sixty  public 
schools.  It  is  thus  observed  a  majority  of  the  Mennonites  in 
Canada  still  oppose  the  public  school.  In  fact  the  Old  Colonists 
in  both  Provinces  will  not  permit  children  to  attend  the  public 
schools  and  will  discipline  the  parents  who  send  them.  This  oppo- 
sition to  public  schools  has  already  brought  the  Old  Colonists 
into  serious  conflict  with  the  Governmental  authorities.  A  recent 
law  in  Saskatchewan  prescribed  the  building  of  public  schools  and 
the  use  of  the  English  language  in  the  settlements  that  had  hith- 
erto been  permitted  to  maintain  their  own  private  schools.  Be- 
cause they  refused  to  send  their  children  to  the  public  schools  a 
number  have  been  punished  with  short  jail  sentences. 

With  poor  schools,  the  maintenance  of  a  foreign  language,  a 
compact  settlement,  an  uneducated  and  unsupported  ministry,  a 
conservative  and  exclusive  church  policy,  progress  in  the  direc- 
tion of  a  more  vital  and  aggressive  religious  life  will  be  slow. 
But  in  spite  of  all  the  peculiarities  and  formalities  just  described, 
the  Manitoba  Mennonites  are  known  to  be  an  honest,  industrious, 
law-abiding  and  in  their  way  a  God-fearing  people,  and  have 
played  an  important  role  in  the  economic  development  of  Mani- 
toba and  the  Canadian  Northwest.  In  recent  years,  since  th'e 
early  nineties,  many  have  swarmed  from  the  original  hive  and 
have  planted  daughter  colonies  in  Saskatchewan,  Alberta  and 
British  Columbia,  where  they  have  reproduced  largely  the  life  of 
the  parent  community,  but  where  undoubtedly  because  of  the 
smaller  and  more  scattered  settlements  the  old  customs  will  be 
abolished  more  easily.  The  greatest  hope  of  a  reformed  Mani- 
toba lies  in  the  breaking  up  of  her  closed  communities  and  in 
keeping  up  social  relations  and  religious  affiliations  with  other 
more  liberal  Mennonite  groups. 


Since  the  above  was  written,  public  schools  and  the  English  lan- 
guage have  been  prescribed  in  the  western  provinces.  In  a  number  of 
districts  among  the  extremely  conservative  Mennointes  the  govern- 
ment has  found  it  difficult  to  enforce  compulsory  attendance  in  the 
public  schools,  and  several  of  the  Mennonites  have  served  short  jail 
sentences  rather  than  to  exchange  their  German  parochial  schools  for 
the  English  public  schools. 


THE  IMMIGRATION  FROM  RUSSIA  263 

Western  United  States 

In  the  United  States  the  greatest  number  of  Russian  immi- 
grants chose  Kansas  as  a  home.  These  came  largely,  as  already 
indicated,  from  the  Molotschna  and  other  scattered  Russian  set- 
tlements, and  were  more  progressive  in  the  beginning  than  those 
who  settled  in  Manitoba.  They  located  in  the  heart  of  the  State, 
along  the  Arkansas  valley  in  the  counties  of  Marion,  McPherson, 
Butler,  Harvey,  Reno  and  Barton  on  lands  bought  from  the 
Sante  Fe  at  a  low  price  on  easy  terms.  Among  the  most  promi- 
nent congregations  in  the  state  is  the  large  Alexanderwohl  con- 
gregation which  emigrated  bodily  from  Russia,  and  consisted  of 
nearly  six  hundred  persons  at  the  time.  To  the  smaller  groups 
belonged  the  Poles,  Volhynians  and  Prussians  scattered  through 
the  central  counties.  Somewhat  later  other  small  non-Russian 
groups  located  near  the  original  settlements.  Among  these  was  a 
small  congregation  of  Galicians  who  came  direct  from  Austria 
in  1885,  and  located  near  Arlington  and  near  Butterfield,  Minne- 
sota. About  the  same  time  a  small  number  of  Swiss  arrived  from 
Bern,  Switzerland,  ^settling  near  Whitewater. 

In  Nebraska  a  colony  of  West  Prussians  located  near  Bea- 
trice. In  the  early  eighties  a  small  group  of  Russians  from  Claas 
Epp's  ill-fated  Asiatic  expedition  also  settled  near  here.  Isaac 
Peters  from  the  Pordenau  congregation,  and  a  number  of  his 
members  arrived  among  the  first  Russian  immigrants  and  estab- 
lished a  colony  in  York  county.  A  small  group  from  the  Brueder- 
gemeinde  also  located  in  this  county. 

South  Dakota  received  the  large  Huterite  colony,  and  a  num- 
ber of  Volhynians  and  others  who  located  along  the  James  river 
in  the  southeastern  part  of  the  State. 

About  one  hundred  families  settled  in  southern  Minnesota, 
where  near  Mountain  Lake  there  are  at  present  a  number  of 
flourishing  congregations. 

From  all  these  original  colonies  new  settlements  have  been 
made  in  nearly  all  of  the  newer  western  States.  Oklahoma  espe- 
cially received  many  settlers  during  the  eighties  and  nineties 
from  Kansas,  but  there  is  hardly  a  State  now  west  of  the  original 


264  THE  MENNONITES 

settlements  that  does  not  contain  a  number  of  prosperous  Man- 
nonite  farming  communities. 

The  first  immigrants  aroused  considerable  interest  when  they 
first  arrived  in  the  localities  where  they  were  to  make  their  homes. 
In  the  fall  of  1874  the  Sante  Fe  Railroad  Company  was  obliged 
to  find  temporary  quarters  in  their  shops  at  Topeka  for  several 
hundred  families  for  several  weeks  enroute  to  their  homes  on 
the  Kansas  prairies.  While  here  their  strange  clothes  and  man- 
ners were  the  source  of  interesting  and  sometimes  unfavorable 
comment,  but  when  they  began  to  spend  money  liberally  in  the 
Topeka  shops  and  stores  for  supplies  and  equipment  to  be  used 
on  farms  still  undeveloped  their  peculiarities  were  soon  forgotten, 
and  Governor  Osborne  even  arranged  a  public  reception  for  them 
at  the  State  House. 

Once  on  their  lands,  the  Sante  Fe  erected  large  temporary 
sheds  to  quarter  them  while  they  were  erecting  their  first  crude 
long,  one-story  sod  and  frame  houses.  In  Kansas  the  first  set- 
tlers also  tried  to  reproduce  their  Russian  village  life,  but  they 
soon  gave  it  up  as  impractical  and  all  soon  followed  the  Ameri- 
can custom  of  living  in  the  open  country  in  isolated  farm  houses. 
The  years  1873  and  1874,  it  will  be  remembered,  were  the  years 
of  the  panic  and  grasshoppers.  The  first  settlers,  especially  the 
poor,  were  reduced  to  extreme  poverty,  and  their  Eastern  breth- 
ren were  obliged  to  send  them  relief.  Those  who  came  a  little 
later,  however,  and  who  were  obliged  to  buy  farm  equipment 
found  the  panic  prices  a  decided  advantage. 

Like  their  countrymen  in  Manitoba  the  so-called  Russian 
Mennonites  in  the  United  States  were  not  Russians  at  all,  but 
Germans  who  had  come  from  Prussia  three-quarters  of  a  century 
before,  and  had  retained  practically  all  their  Prussian  culture 
including  their  "Platt-Deutsch"  dialects.  German  is  still  the 
language  of  the  pulpit,  while  the  "Platt-Deutsch"  dialect  is  used 
in  everyday  conversation.  They  brought  with  them,  too,  some 
of  their  Russian  farm  utensils  including  small  Russian  wagons, 
forks,  rakes,  and  especially  several  large  threshing  stones,  all  of 
which,  however,  they  had  the  good  sense  to  discard  after  the  first 
year  or  two.     A  number  of  them  also  thinking  the  conditions 


THE  IMMIGRATION  FROM  RUSSIA  265 

favorable  for  the  development  of  the  silk  industry  planted  mul- 
berry trees  and  grew  silkworms.  The  silk  industry,  however, 
never  passed  beyond  the  experimental  stage. 

In  their  church  connections  most  of  the  main  body  of  Rus- 
sian Mennonites,  called  in  Russia  the  "Alt  kirchliche"  to  distin- 
guish them  from  the  "Bruedergemeinde"  and  other  divisions 
described  a  little  later,  affiliated  themselves  with  the  General  Con- 
ference of  Mennonites  rather  than  with  any  of  the  other  Amer- 
ican groups,  because  the  former  at  the  time  were  the  only  Men- 
nonites in  America  actively  carrying  on  missionary  work,  a  cause 
in  which  the  Russians  also  were  interested.  Another  reason  may 
have  been  the  fact  that  the  General  Conference  showed  them- 
selves more  willing  to  cooperate  with  them  on  a  basis  of  equality 
than  any  of  the  other  groups.  A  number  of  congregations,  how- 
ever, have  remained  independent,  or  have  formed  small  confer- 
ences among  themselves.  Among  these  is  a  congregation  in 
Mountain  Lake,  Minnesota,  which  is  in  sympathy  with  the  Old 
Mennonites,  but  is  not  a  part  of  that  conference.  The  Peters 
churches  in  Nebraska,  the  Wall  congregation  in  Minnesota,  at 
first  independent  have  recently  organized  a  small  conference  of 
their  own.  The  Manitoba  settlement,  as  we  saw,  was  divided  into 
two  independent  groups.  In  addition  to  the  divisions  imported 
from  Russia  a  small  number  of  the  members  of  the  various  con- 
gregations, especially  in  Canada,  have  joined  the  Holdeman 
church. 

As  already  indicated  the  Russian  Mennonites  in  our  own 
West  have  been  more  progressive  than  those  across  the  border. 
Their  early  interest  in  good  schools  and  colleges  is  mentioned  in 
another  chapter.  It  was  largely  for  the  purpose  of  promoting 
the  education  of  their  children,  that  the  Kansas  Conference  was 
organized  in  1877,  and  school  matters  received  a  good  share  of 
the  attention  of  the  Conference  in  its  early  sessions.  At  the  same 
time,  too,  David  Goerz  established  at  Halstead,  Kansas,  the  "Zur 
Heimat,"  a  religious  newspaper  of  great  influence  among  the 
early  Russian  immigrants.  They  were  greatly  interested  in  mis- 
sions from  the  beginning  and  soon  heartily  supported  the  indus- 
trial mission  stations  among  the  Indians,  which  were  founded  by 


266  THE  MENNONITES 

the  General  Conference.  In  material  matters,  too,  they  have  suc- 
ceeded and  have  been  among  the  most  prosperous  and  progres- 
sive farmers  in  the  entire  West.  They  have  become  more  thor- 
oughly Americanized  also.  Among  them  have  been  a  number  of 
men  who  have  served  their  State  and  Nation  in  responsible  posi- 
tions. One  of  these  is  Senator  Peter  Jansen,  son  of  Cornelius 
Jansen,  already  mentioned  and  a  wealthy  sheep-rancher,  who  has 
served  his  State  in  the  State  Senate  and  who  was  appointed  by 
President  McKinley,  one  of  the  United  States  commissioners  to 
the  Paris  Exposition.  For  many  years  he  has  taken  an  active 
interest  in  the  political  affairs  of  his  native  State,  Nebraska. 

Among  the  groups  which  have  had  a  separate  religious  his- 
tory from  the  beginning  in  America,  the  most  important  is  the 

Bruedergemeinde 

or  the  Mennonite  Brethren  Church,  which  had  its  origin  in  Rus- 
sia in  the  sixties  of  the  last  century.  Scattered  bands  and  indi- 
viduals were  found  in  most  of  the  first  Russian  Mennonite  set- 
tlements in  America,  but  they  were  so  small  that  at  first  there  was 
little  organized  church  activity.  With  the  coming,  however,  of 
Elder  Abraham  Schellenberg  from  the  Molotschna  in  1879,  more 
aggressive  work  in  behalf  of  their  cause  was  begun.  And  soon 
such  members  as  came  direct  from  Russia  together  with  such 
proselytes  as  were  secured  from  the  old  church  here  formed 
aggressive  congregations  in  all  the  settlements.  By  1887,  they 
had  a  membership  of  twelve  hundred  and  sixty-six,  in  eighteen 
congregations.  They  place  special  emphasis  upon  a  definite  con- 
version experience,  and  baptize  by  immersion  backward,  and 
practise  feet-washing  in  connection  with  the  communion.  They 
have  much  in  common  with  the  Baptists  and  at  first  lost  a  few  of 
their  members  to  that  church.  The  Adventists  also  have  made 
some  inroads  among  them.  They  are  perhaps  more  conservative 
than  their  own  brethren  in  Russia,  but  follow  an  aggressive  mis- 
sionary and  evangelistic  policy.  For  several  years  beginning  with 
1898,  their  educational  interests  were  served  by  a  "German  De- 
partment" in  McPherson  College,  a  Dunkard  institution,  which 
the  conference  helped  to  support.    In  1908,  however,  they  founded 


THE  IMMIGRATION  FROM  RUSSIA  267 

Tabor  College  at  Hillsboro,  Kansas,  which  has  since  grown  into 
a  prosperous  institution.  The  "Zionsbote"  is  the  official  publica- 
tion of  the  church.  They  have  increased  their  membership  per- 
haps more  rapidly  than  any  other  group.  The  membership  in 
1918  was  six  thousand  and  three  hundred,  with  one  hundred  and 
sixty  ministers,  eight  foreign  missionaries,  three  city  mission- 
aries, and  nine  traveling  evangelists.  Closely  related  to  the 
Bruedergemeinde  are  the 

Krimmer  Brueder 

The  Crimean  Brethren,  who  were  organized  from  a  Crimean 
"Kleine  Gemeinde"  by  Jacob  Wiebe  in  1869,  came  to  America  in 
1874  and  organized  a  separate  church  congregation.  Although 
of  the  same  faith  as  the  Mennonite  Brethren  as  to  baptism  and 
other  religious  practices  and  doctrines  they  inherited  certain  ten- 
dencies from  their  Kleine  Gemeinde  origin  which  together  with 
their  separate  organization  in  America  prevented  them  from 
affiliating  entirely  with  the  Mennonite  Brethren.  They  are  also 
sometimes  spoken  of  as  the  "Wiebe  Gemeinde,"  after  their  old 
elder  who  was  still  living  several  years  ago  in  Kansas.  Their 
entire  membership  at  present  is  less  than  one  thousand,  the  largest 
congregations  being  found  in  Kansas  with  others  scattered 
throughout  Oklahoma,  Nebraska,  Saskatchewan  and  several 
other  western  States.  They  control  their  own  printing  estab- 
lishment in  Chicago  where  they  publish  their  paper  the  "Wahr- 
heitsfreund."  An  interesting  side-light  into  church  practices  is 
found  in  a  series  of  conference  resolutions  passed  in  1905.  Mar- 
riage with  those  outside  their  own  or  the  older  Mennonite  Breth- 
ren church  was  forbidden.  Worldliness  in  superfluous  dress, 
excessive  buying  of  land,  attendance  at  theatres  and  circuses  was 
discouraged.  Brethren  owning  guns  were  not  to  carry  them.  Hail 
insurance,  life  insurance,  voting,  and  taking  of  oaths  were  all 
proven  to  be  wrong  by  copious  Scripture  passages. 

The  Isaac  Peters  Churches 

are  a  group  of  congregations  in  Nebraska  and  Minnesota  which 
grew  up  around  an  original  congregation  which  had  immigrated 


268  THE  MENNONITES 

to  Nebraska  quite  early  from  the  Molotschna  under  the  leadership 
of  Elder  Isaac  Peters.  Peters  was  an  aggressive  elder  of  the 
Pordenau  congregation,  who  took  a  conservative  stand  on  many 
questions  and  stood  rather  aloof  from  the  other  congregations 
before  the  emigration.  He  was  exiled  from  Russia  in  1873  be- 
cause of  his  activities  in  the  emigration  agitation.  In  America 
his  congregation  stood  for  aggressive,  but  at  the  same  time  con- 
serative  church  practices,  and  they  have  been  inclined  to  affili- 
ate with  the  Old  Mennonites,  although  they  have  never  been  an 
organic  part  of  that  body.  In  the  meantime  Bishop  Aaron  Wall 
of  one  of  the  Mountain  Lake,  Minnesota,  congregations,  also  held 
decidedly  conservative  views.  A  large  part  of  the  congregation 
being  decidedly  opposed  to  Sunday  schools,  missions  and  other 
lines  of  work  favored  by  more  progressive  elements,  organized 
a  congregation  of  their  own  in  1889.  At  first  inclined  to  affiliate 
with  the  Old  Mennonites  they  later  joined  with  the  Peters  con- 
gregation in  Nebraska,  and  in  1910  formed  a  conference  under 
the  name  "Defenseless  Mennonite  Brethren  in  Christ  of  North 
America."  During  the  same  year  also,  they  founded  their  church 
paper  "Der  Evangelisations  Bote."  The  Mennonite  Year  Book 
of  1918  gives  these  Peters  and  Wall  congregations  a  membership 
of  fourteen  hundred  and  eight  with  four  bishops  and  twenty- 
seven  ministers,  principally  in  Minnesota  and  Nebraska,  but 
scattered  groups  also  in  Montana,  Kansas,  Idaho,  Oregon,  Mani- 
toba and  Saskatchewan.  Much  of  their  earlier  opposition  to 
progressive  church  work  has  been  abandoned,  for  they  now  sup- 
port foreign  missionaries  in  India  and  Africa  and  a  city  mission 
in  Chicago. 

Huterites 

Although  the  Huterites  have  no  organic  connection  in  Amer- 
ica with  any  of  the  Mennonite  bodies,  yet  they  have  a  common 
origin  and  have  had  a  common  history  in  Europe,  and  must 
therefore  be  included  in  any  complete  history  of  the  Mennonites. 
They  located  first  in  Bonhomme  county  along  the  James  River  in 
South  Dakota,  but  later  in  neighboring  counties  farther  up  the 
river.    They  are  still  communists  and  live  in  large  Households 


THE  IMMIGRATION  FROM  RUSSIA  269 

called  "Bruderhofs,"  containing  each  from  ten  to  thirty  families. 
The  first  Household  established  in  Bonhomme  county  has 
since  expanded  into  sixteen,  mostly  in  South  Dakota,  but  a  few 
in  North  Dakota  and  Montana,  with  a  total  population  of  about 
two  thousand.  There  are  several  scattered  colonies,  the  most 
important  of  which,  is  the  settlement  in  Wolfs  Creek  which 
covers  over  twelve  thousand  acres.  A  visitor  to  the  colony  in 
1902  found  at  the  time  on  the  farms  two  thousand  sheep,  four 
hundred  head  of  cattle,  one  hundred  and  fifty  milk  cows,  seven 
hundred  geese,  seventy  horses,  three  hundred  swine,  one  thou- 
sand ducks,  and  sufficient  up-to-date  machinery  and  equipment 
to  operate  the  establishment.  All  work  in  common,  but  each  has 
his  distinct  work  to  do.  Each  department  of  work  is  in  charge 
of  an  overseer,  while  a  superintendent  directs  the  work  of  the 
entire  colony.  The  spiritual  welfare  of  the  community  is  in  charge 
of  a  bishop.  All  eat  in  the  common  dining-room  of  the  House- 
hold, which  is  also  used  for  the  final  devotional  and  business 
meeting  held  each  evening  before  retiring.  Children  are  brought 
up  in  nurseries  and  are  with  their  parents  only  at  night.  They 
have  their  own  schools  and  still  speak  the  German  language. 
They  take  life  rather  easy,  and  require  little  money  to  carry  on 
their  individual  business  transactions,  although  as  a  community 
they  have  become  wealthy.  Their  worship  is  simple.  Peter 
Riedeman's  Confession  of  Faith  printed  in  Germany  in  1565,  and 
once  in  America  at  Berne,  Indiana,  in  1902,  still  furnishes  the 
basis  of  their  church  doctrine.  Their  hymns  are  old,  dating 
back  to  the  sixteenth  century  and  were  never  printed  until  1916. 
Their  clothes  are  quaint  and  old-fashioned,  the  men  in  several  of 
the  colonies  still  wearing  hooks  and  eyes  instead  of  buttons. 
They  are  opposed  to  higher  education,  missions  and  modern 
methods  of  church  work.  They  are  still  strictly  non-resistant. 
During  the  recent  Liberty  Bond  campaigns,  upon  their  refusal  to 
buy  bonds  and  contribute  to  the  various  war  funds  many  of  their 
sheep  and  cattle  were  forcibly  taken  and  sold  by  the  local  county 
authorities  for  the  sum  of  about  $20,000,  which  was  deposited  in 
the  banks  with  a  view  to  use  for  the  war  fund.  These  officials 
were  compelled  to  abandon  these  tactics,  however,  by  the  author- 


270  THE  MENNONITES 

ities  higher  up.  The  money  was  then  to  be  returned,  but  the 
Huterites  demanded  their  stock  instead  of  the  money.  As  a 
result  of  these  experiences  most  of  the  colonies  disposed  of  their 
holdings  and  bought  large  tracts  of  land  in  the  Canadian  North- 
west under  the  impression  that  their  young  men  might  there 
enjoy  the  military  exemption  that  had  been  granted  to  the  Men- 
nonites  already  there.  Their  coming,  however,  aroused  bitter 
antagonism  and  certain  business  and  military  organizations  and 
even  ministers  assemblies  stirred  up  such  a  feeling  against  them 
throughout  the  Canadian  Provinces  that  it  was  doubtful  at  the 
time  of  the  close  of  the  war  whether  they  would  have  been  able 
to  secure  exemption.* 

The  entire  number  of  Russian  Mennonites  in  the  United 
States,  in  1880,  including  all  the  divisions  enumerated  above,  was 
somewhat  larger  than  that  of  Manitoba.  The  living  descendant? 
count  up  now  about  thirty-five  thousand.  These  together  with 
about  thirty-two  thousand  in  Canada  would  bring  up  the  entire 
Russian  Mennonite  population  in  America  near  sixty-seven  thou- 
sand. Including  the  eighty-five  thousand  or  more  now  still  found 
in  Russia  would  bring  the  total  up  to  more  than  one  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  descendants  from  the  six  or  seven  thousand  Prus- 
sians who  came  to  Russia  a  little  over  a  century  ago.  When  we 
remember  that  this  was  less  than  the  number  that  remained  in 
Prussia  at  the  time,  and  that  the  present  number  of  West  Prus- 
sians is  only  about  ten  thousand,  we  can  realize  how  influential 
the  Mennonite  church  might  be  today,  if  in  Germany  and  Holland 
during  the  last  three  hundred  years  the  church  could  have  suc- 
ceeded as  well  in  holding  her  young  people,  as  did  the  Mennon- 
ites of  Russia  and  their  descendants  in  America. 


*  The    Canadian    Government   has   since   forbidden   Huterites   and 
Mennonites    to    settle    in    Canada. 


JOHN  H.  OBERHOLZER 


GENERAL  CONF.  OF  MEN.  OF  N.  A.  271 


CHAPTER  XVII 

THE   GENERAL   CONFERENCE    OF   MENNONITES   OF 
NORTH  AMERICA 

The  General  Conference  originally  was  not  a  separate  branch 
of  the  denomination,  but  was  a  unification  movement  aiming  at  a 
union  of  all  Mennonites  in  America.  As  a  unification  movement 
it  had  its  source  in  three  distinct  local  centers — in  Pennsylvania, 
Ontario,  and  Iowa. 

J.  H.  Oberholtzer  and  his  followers,  as  already  noted,  after 
their  expulsion  from  the  Franconia  Conference  in  1847,  imme- 
diately organized  themselves  into  a  new  religious  body.  Ober- 
holtzer began  a  vigorous  campaign  for  the  spread  of  his  cause. 
For  the  advancement  of  the  religious  interests  of  the  congrega- 
tions which  had  cast  their  lot  with  his,  he  founded  in  his  home 
town,  Milford  Square,  the  first  Mennonite  church  paper  in  Amer- 
ica called  "Religioeser  Botschafter."  This  paper  he  published  at 
his  own  expense  for  the  good  of  the  cause  until  1856,  when  it 
was  taken  over  by  an  association  called  the  Mennonite  Printing 
Union,  and  the  name  of  the  paper  was  changed  to  "Das  Christ- 
liche  Volksblat."  This  paper  Oberholtzer  used  to  good  advan- 
tage in  advocating  a  closer  union  among  a  number  of  isolated 
Mennonite  communities. 

Although  Oberholtzer  was  active  in  promoting  the  interests 
of  the  new  movement,  he  had  not  entirely  abandoned  the  hope  of 
effecting  a  reconciliation  with  the  old  church.  He  sincerely  de- 
sired a  union,  and  as  late  as  1860  he  suggested  in  a  pamphlet 
called  "Verantwortung  und  Erlaeuterung"  the  terms  upon  which 
the  two  groups  of  churches  might  come  together.  These  terms, 
however,  were  rejected  by  the  old  church,  and  so  no  reconcilia- 
tion was  possible.  At  the  same  time,  too,  he  was  advocating 
through  his  church  paper  a  union  of  all  the  Mennonite  congre- 
gations of  America. 


272  THE  MENNONITES 

In  the  meantime  a  liberal  movement,  similar  in  many  respects 
to  the  one  in  Franconia  had  been  making  headway  among  a  few 
of  the  scattered  churches  near  Niagara  Falls,  in  Lincoln  county, 
Ontario.  This  movement  was  one  in  behalf  of  more  aggressive 
church  work,  especially  of  greater  evangelistic  efforts,  and  the 
leading  spirit  was  a  minister  by  the  name  of  Daniel  Hoch.  In 
1853,  Hoch  was  appointed  at  a  meeting  of  this  group  of  churches 
as  a  visiting  minister  to  various  scattered  congregations  in  the 
region.  He  also  had  come  into  contact  evidently  with  a  small 
congregation  at  Wadsworth,  Ohio,  composed  of  a  few  families, 
who  had  recently  come  there  from  Pennsylvania  under  the  leader- 
ship of  Reverend  Ephraim  Hunsberger,  for  in  1855  these  two 
groups  organized  themselves  into  the  Conference  Council  of  the 
Mennonite  Communities  of  Canada-West  and  Ohio.  The  purpose 
of  the  organization  seems  to  have  been  to  promote  greater  evan- 
gelistic and  missionary  zeal  among  the  churches. 

Oberholtzer  had  taken  a  deep  interest  in  the  Canadian  move- 
ment from  the  very  beginning,  for  here  might  be  an  opportunity 
perhaps  of  enlarging  the  circle  of  congregations  that  favored  a 
more  liberal  church  policy,  and  the  beginning  of  the  realization 
of  a  dream  which  he  already  began  to  cherish,  namely  the  unifi- 
cation of  all  the  Mennonite  churches  of  America.  Consequently 
in  the  Volksblatt  in  1856  he  advocated  the  union  of  the  Canada- 
Ohio  conference  with  his  own  Pennsylvania  conference  in  the 
interests  of  the  mission  cause,  and  suggested  a  general  council  of 
the  two  conferences.  This  plan  was  favorably  received  by  the 
Canada  churches,  and  resolutions  were  passed  by  the  Conference 
in  its  session  of  1857  urging  that  steps  be  taken  in  this  direction, 
but  no  further  results  followed  at  this  time. 

While  this  subject  was  being  agitated  in  the  East,  a  similar 
movement  had  begun  in  the  West.  In  Lee  county,  Iowa,  there 
were  two  small  congregations  composed  largely  of  Bavarian  and 
Palatinate  immigrants  who  had  come  to  the  State  some  few  years 
before.  They  were  located  near  the  Amish  settlement,  which 
had  been  made  some  time  earlier.  But  being  more  recently  from 
Europe  than  the  Amish,  and  differing  from  them  in  customs  and 
practises   they  never  worked   in   harmony   with   them.     Conse- 


GENERAL  CONF.  OF  MEN.  OF  N.  A.  273 

quently  these  two  congregations  found  themselves  somewhat 
isolated  from  the  other  Iowa  churches.  Feeling  the  need  of 
united  effort  especially  in  evangelistic  work  among  such  members 
of  the  church  as  had  settled  some  distance  from  the  main  body, 
a  joint  meeting  of  the  West  Point  and  the  Zion  congregations 
was  brought  about  at  West  Point  in  1859,  largely  through  the 
influence  of  Daniel  Krehbiel,  who  continued  for  the  rest  of  his 
days  a  most  enthusiastic  advocate  of  the  unification  cause.  An- 
other leader  of  the  union  movement  for  the  Iowa  churches  was 
Christian  Showalter,  also  a  South  German  immigrant,  and  at  this 
time  a  teacher  in  the  parochial  school  at  the  Zion  congregation. 
According  to  the  resolutions  passed  at  this  meeting  its  purpose 
was  to  "devise  ways  on  the  one  hand  for  the  centralization  of  the 
Mennonite  churches,  but  chiefly  on  the  other  for  supplying  iso- 
lated families  with  the  Gospel  blessings."  The  ideal  of  the  union 
of  all  Mennonite  churches  seems  to  have  captured  the  imagina- 
tion of  the  leaders  of  the  Lee  county  congregations  also.  Near 
the  close  of  the  meeting  after  an  urgent  plea  by  Daniel  Kreh- 
biel, it  was  decided  to  extend  a  general  invitation  to  other  Men- 
nonite churches  to  meet  with  them  in  another  conference  at  West 
Point  the  following  year.  The  report  of  the  initial  meeting  to- 
gether with  the  invitation  for  the  coming  year  were  published  in 
the  Pennsylvania  paper,  the  "Christliche  Volksblatt." 

Oberholtzer  naturally  was  also  interested  in  the  Iowa  move- 
ment. During  the  year  he  repeatedly  urged  through  the  columns 
of  his  paper  that  both  the  Pennsylvania  and  the  Canada  congre- 
gations send  representatives  to  the  meeting  in  Lee  county. 
Neither,  however,  seemed  enthusiastic  in  responding  to  the  invi- 
tation, and  that  for  several  reasons.  In  the  first  place  Iowa  at 
that  time  was  on  the  frontier  line  of  American  civilization,  and 
why  should  the  eastern  churches  go  so  far  west  to  attend  a  meet- 
ing the  purpose  of  which  was  to  form  a  union  of  congregations 
almost  all  of  which  were  in  the  East.  Secondly  the  Iowans  were 
recent  European  immigrants  in  whom  the  Easterners,  whose  an- 
cestors had  been  in  this  country  for  the  better  part  of  two  cen- 
turies, felt  little  personal  interest.  Neither  of  the  eastern  con- 
ferences appointed  delegates  to  the  western  meeting.    Hoch  and 


274  THE  MENNONITES 

Oberholtzer  appeared  to  be  the  only  individuals  in  the  least  inter- 
ested in  the  enterprise,  and  it  seemed  extremely  doubtful  whether 
even  they  would  be  able  to  attend  because  of  financial  considera- 
tions. But  finally  at  the  last  moment  through  the  generosity  of 
a  friend  it  was  made  possible  for  Oberholtzer  and  one  companion 
to  be  present.  These  two  men  were  the  only  representatives  at 
the  meeting  from  the  churches  outside  of  the  Iowa  congregations. 
The  conference,  if  indeed  it  may  be  called  such,  was  held 
May  28-29,  1860,  near  West  Point,  and  was  composed  of  the  two 
congregations  already  named,  another  minister  from  a  near-by 
settlement  and  the  two  representatives  from  Pennsylvania.  Ober- 
holtzer was  chosen  chairman,  and  Christian  Showalter  of  the 
neighboring  congregation,  secretary.  Although  unpretentious 
and  local  in  character,  this  meeting  was  not  deterred  by  that  fact 
from  discussing  a  lofty  and  ambitious  ideal,  namely  the  unifica- 
tion of  all  the  Mennonites  of  America  under  one  working  organ- 
ization. Deploring  the  fact  that  there  was  so  much  factionalism 
among  the  Mennonites,  and  that  the  denomination  "has  never 
since  its  existence  in  America  constituted  an  ecclesiastical  organ- 
ization," and  further  that  because  of  this  factionalism  there  is 
"a  corresponding  decline  in  spiritual  life,"  the  assembly  drew  up 
a  set  of  resolutions  which  it  was  hoped  would  serve  as  a  common 
platform  upon  which  all  might  unite  for  the  extension  of  the  mis- 
sion and  other  interests  of  the  church.  These  resolutions  are  as 
follows : 

1.  That  all  branches  of  the  Mennonite  denomination  in 
North  America  regardless  of  minor  differences,  should  extend  to 
each  other  the  hand  of  fellowship. 

2.  That  fraternal  relations  shall  be  severed  only  when  a  per- 
son or  church  abandons  the  fundamental  doctrines  of  the  de- 
nomination ;  namely  those  concerning  baptism,  the  oath,  etc., 
as  indeed  all  the  principles  of  the  faith  which  we  with  Menno 
base  solely  upon  the  Gospel  as  received  from  Jesus  Christ  and 
His  apostles. 

3.  That  no  brother  shall  be  found  guilty  of  heresy  unless 
his  error  can  be  established  on  unequivocal  Scripture  evidence. 

4.  That  the  General  Conference  shall  consider  no  excom- 


GENERAL  CONF.  OF  MEN.  OF  N.  A.  275 

munication  as  Scripturally  valid  unless  a  real  transgression  or 
neglect  conflicting  with  the  demands  of  Scripture  exists. 

5.  That  every  church  or  district  shall  be  entitled  to  continue 
without  molestation  or  hindrance  and  amenable  only  to  their  own 
conscience  any  rules  or  regulations  they  may  have  adopted  for 
their  own  government ;  provided  they  do  not  conflict  with  the 
tenets  of  our  general  confession. 

6.  That  if  a  member  of  a  church,  because  of  existing  cus- 
toms or  ordinances  in  his  church,  shall  desire  to  sever  his  con- 
nection and  unite  with  some  other  church  of  the  General  Con- 
ference such  action  shall  not  be  interfered  with. 

As  just  indicated,  the  motive  for  this  united  action  was  to 
provide  for  more  effective  evangelistic  efforts,  but  two  other  sub- 
jects were  also  discussed  during  the  meeting — the  establishing  of 
a  publishing  house  and  an  institution  for  theological  training. 
Both  of  these  measures  had  been  advocated  for  several  years  by 
such  men  as  Oberholtzer,  Hoch  and  Daniel  Krehbiel,  and  these 
men  were  undoubtedly  responsible  for  introducing  them  into  the 
discussions  at  this  time.  After  a  two  days'  session,  the  assembly 
adjourned,  but  not  before  it  was  decided  to  meet  again  the  follow- 
ing year  at  Wadsworth,  Ohio. 

Thus  was  launched  the  General  Conference  of  the  Mennonites 
of  North  America.  The  aim  of  the  movement  was  an  ambitious 
but  worthy  one.  Just  how  seriously  the  leaders  of  the  cause  at 
this  time  entertained  the  thought  of  a  union  of  all  the  Mennon- 
ites it  is  not  easy  to  say.  It  may  be  safely  inferred,  however, 
that  none  were  so  sanguine  as  to  expect  the  fulfillment  of  the 
work  in  their  own  day,  for  such  a  task  would  have  been  an  im- 
possible one.  The  gap  between  the  opposite  extremes  of  Mennon- 
ite  custom  and  practise  of  that  time  was  too  wide  to  be  bridged 
over  easily.  But  a  union  of  some  of  the  more  liberal  of  the 
older  American  Mennonite  churches  and  a  number  of  the  recent 
immigrant  congregations  was  entirely  feasible,  and  the  leaders 
of  the  movement  undoubtedly  hardly  hoped  to  see  more  than 
that  much  of  their  plan  accomplished  in  their  own  day.  The 
dozen  or  so  of  the  Pennsylvania  congregations  of  course  would 
likely  come  into  the  union,  as  would  also  a  number  of  the  South 


276  THE  MENNONITES 

German  churches  in  Summerfield,  Illinois,  and  Hayesville  and 
Cleveland,  Ohio,  all  of  whom  were  bound  to  the  Lee  county  peo- 
ple by  ties  of  kinship.  The  Wadsworth  congregation  of  liberal 
Pennsylvanians  would  also  be  likely  to  join  the  movement.  And 
so  would  the  two  or  three  Canadian  congregations  under  the  in- 
fluence of  Hoch.  But  beyond  these  scattered  congregations  there 
was  not  a  strong  probability  that  many  others  could  be  secured 
for  the  cause  in  the  immediate  future.  And  yet  this  time  was 
more  opportune  perhaps  than  any  later  period  would  have  been 
for  attempting  such  a  program.  For  none  of  the  Alsatian  Amish 
churches  nor  the  older  Mennonite  churches  in  Ohio,  Illinois  and 
Iowa  had  as  yet  formed  themselves  into  Conferences.  Each  con- 
gregation was  independent  of  all  others  and  some  had  already 
departed  somewhat  from  the  older  traditions  and  customs.  A 
few  of  these  in  more  recent  years  have  affiliated  themselves  with 
the  movement,  but  after  the  organization  of  conferences  of  their 
own  and  especially  after  they  came  under  the  influence  of  the 
conservative  elements  of  the  East  the  probability  of  an  affiliation 
with  the  General  Conference  had  passed.  The  growth  of  the 
movement  has  since  been  confined  almost  entirely  to  isolated 
congregations  of  later  Russian  and  Swiss  Mennonites. 

The  General  Conference,  however,  was  hardly  a  fact  as  yet 
in  1860.  Neither  the  Canada-Ohio  Council,  nor  the  few  other 
independent  congregations  which  it  was  hoped  might  be  brought 
into  line  had  accepted  the  first  invitation.  It  remained  to  be  seen 
what  action  these  would  take  at  the  next  meeting  at  Wadsworth. 

This  session,  the  second  to  be  held,  met  at  Wadsworth,  Me- 
dina county,  Ohio,  May  20,  1861,  in  the  very  days  of  the  opening 
of  the  Civil  war.  It  was  soon  found  that  the  unification  move- 
ment was  taking  root,  for  now  eight  congregations  were  repre- 
sented, including  in  addition  to  those  present  the  year  before 
those  at  Waterloo,  Ontario,  Summerfield,  Illinois,  and  several  of 
the  Oberholtzer  following  in  Pennsylvania.  Daniel  Hoch  of 
Canada,  and  Daniel  Hege  of  Summerfield  were  elected  chairman 
and  secretary  respectively.  Two  new  subjects  were  discussed  at 
this  meeting.  A  new  article  discouraging  secret  societies  was 
added  to  the  platform  adopted  the  year  before,  and  the  first  steps 


GENERAL  CONF.  OF  MEN.  OF  N.  A.  277 

were  taken  toward  the  establishing  of  a  theological  school.  Daniel 
Hege,  a  well  educated  minister  of  the  Summerfield  congregation, 
was  appointed  as  home  evangelist  and  was  authorized  to  visit  all 
the  churches  in  the  interest  of  missions  and  the  new  school.  After 
signing  a  formal  unification  agreement,  the  assembly  adjourned 
to  meet  again,  the  time  and  place  to  be  decided  by  the  chairman 
and  secretary.  The  conference  was  now  a  fact.  After  this,  ses- 
sions were  held  regularly,  at  first  biennially,  but  later  triennially. 
The  third  meeting  was  held  in  Summerfield  in  1863.  The 
chief  discussion  at  this  time  concerned  the  proposed  school,  and 
further  steps  were  taken  toward  its  organization,  Triennial  meet- 
ings were  agreed  upon  and  also  a  method  of  representation  ac- 
cording to  the  size  of  the  affiliated  congregation.  From  this  time 
on  the  Conference  maintained  a  steady  growth.  Nearly  every 
succeeding  meeting  showed  a  gain  in  the  number  of  affiliating 
congregations.  At  first  of  course  the  new  additions  came  from 
the  Pennsylvania  Oberholtzer  churches.  But  in  1875  the  Swiss 
congregation  at  Berne,  Indiana,  was  represented  for  the  first  time 
by  S.  F.  Sprunger.  And  the  following  year  at  a  special  session 
the  first  Russian  church,  the  Alexanderwohl  congregation,  was 
represented  by  Henry  Richert  and  David  Goerz.  Twenty  con- 
gregations were  present  by  delegates  at  this  session.  After  this 
most  of  the  additions  came  from  the  recent  Russian  immigrant 
churches  whose  sympathies  had  been  won  to  the  leaders  of  the 
General  Conference  movement  both  because  of  the  help  they  had 
received  in  settling  in  their  new  home  and  also  because  of  their 
interest  in  the  cause  of  missions,  an  interest  which  was  shared  by 
a  number  of  the  Russian  churches.  The  meeting  of  1893  was 
held  at  Bluffton,  Ohio.  For  the  first  time  the  Swiss  churches  at 
Bluffton  and  Dalton,  Ohio,  and  the  Amish  congregations  at 
Trenton,  Ohio,  and  Noble,  Iowa,  sent  delegates.  Fifty  churches 
were  represented  at  this  meeting,  eighteen  coming  from  Kansas. 
Each  succeeding  session  now  recorded  some  new  additions  either 
from  the  Russians  or  some  other  isolated  congregations  which 
for  various  reasons  had  not  become  identified  with  any  of  the 
other  special  Mennonite  conferences  which  were  being  formed 
in  the  meantime.     In  the  early  nineties  there  seemed  a  fair  pos- 


278  THE  MENNONITES 

sibility  of  winning  a  number  of  the  congregations  of  the  present 
Central  Illinois  Conference  to  the  movement,  but  with  the  found- 
ing in  1899  of  a  separate  organization  of  these  churches,  that 
source  of  additions  was  closed  for  the  time.  The  last  session  of 
the  General  Conference  was  held  at  Reedley,  California,  in  1917. 
Delegates  from  one  hundred  and  twelve  congregations  were  pres- 
ent representing  a  membership  of  16,057. 

Among  the  men,  in  addition  to  those  already  mentioned,  who 
played  an  important  part  in  the  early  formative  period  of  the 
movement  must  be  mentioned  A.  B.  Shelly  of  Pennsylvania,  pres- 
ident of  the  Conference  continously  from  1872  to  1896,  and  inter- 
ested in  all  its  various  lines  of  work ;  Christian  Krehbiel,  of  Sum- 
merfield,  Illinois,  but  later  from  Halstead,  Kansas,  a  South  Ger- 
man immigrant,  interested  in  the  Russian  immigration,  and  one 
of  the  leaders  in  the  Indian  mission  cause ;  David  Goerz,  a  Rus- 
sian immigrant,  and  one  of  the  leaders  in  bringing  the  Russians 
into  the  General  Conference ;  Henry  Richert,  from  the  Alexander- 
wohl  congregation,  also  a  leader  among  the  Russians ;  J.  C.  Kreh- 
biel, chairman  of  the  first  meeting  in  1859  at  West  Point,  and  a 
member  of  many  important  committees  later ;  S.  F.  Sprunger  of 
Berne,  Indiana ;  Ben  Eicher,  leader  of  the  Amish  churches  in 
Henry  county,  Iowa ;  Daniel  Hege,  the  first  home  evangelist  and 
collector  of  funds  for  the  Wadsworth  school  ;-C.  J.  van  der  Smis- 
sen,  theological  professor  at  Wadsworth,  and  later  secretary  of 
the  Mission  Board ;  J.  S.  Moyer  of  Pennsylvania ;  and  John  S. 
Hirschler  of  Kansas.  A  number  of  younger  men  still  living  and 
active  have  done  much  for  the  General  Conference  in  recent  years, 
but  it  is  left  for  some  future  historian  to  estimate  the  value  of 
their  contributions. 

The  two  questions  that  occupied  much  of  the  time  and 
thought  of  the  Conference  during  the  first  twenty  years  of  the 
history  of  the  movement  were  education  and  missions.  The  school 
at  Wadsworth  held  the  center  of  interest  from  1863,  when  the 
first  committee  was  appointed  until  1878,  when  it  was  forced  to 
close  its  doors.  It  took  six  years  after  Daniel  Hege  began  to 
collect  funds  in  1862,  before  the  school  was  opened.  The  insti- 
tution which  was  known  as  "The  Christian  Educational  Institu- 


GENERAL  CONF.  OF  MEN.  OF  N.  A.  279 

tion  of  the  Mennonite  Denomination"  was  located  at  Wadsworth, 
Ohio,  which  was  thought  to  be  the  most  centrally  located  between 
the  East  and  the  West.  It  opened  its  doors  on  January  2,  1868, 
with  Christian  Showalter,  of  Iowa,  as  principal,  one  other  teacher, 
and  twenty-four  students.  Its  purpose  was  primarily  to  train 
young-  men  for  Christian  work,  although  secular  subjects  were 
also  taught.  During  the  same  year  C.  J.  van  der  Smissen  from 
Friedrichstadt,  Germany  was  called  to  the  chair  of  theology  with 
the  assurance  that  the  position  was  to  last  the  rest  of  his  natural 
life  The  school  never  prospered.  The  attendance  hardly  ever 
went  beyond  that  of  the  opening  day.  It  began  with  a  deficit  in 
the  building  fund,  and  poor  financing  handicapped  its  work 
throughout  its  entire  career.  Although  there  were  only  three 
teachers,  expenses  could  hardly  be  met.  Besides  financial  dif- 
ficulties there  were  quarrels  within  the  faculty.  Showalter  and 
van  der  Smissen  did  not  agree  upon  matters  of  policy,  and  the 
former  finally  resigned,  leaving  to  the  latter  the  entire  manage- 
ment of  the  educational  policy  of  the  institution.  Finally  the 
churches  of  the  West  and  those  of  Pennsylvania  disagreed  as  to 
certain  questions  of  management,  with  the  result  that  the  school 
had  to  close  with  a  heavy  debt,  a  theological  professor  hired  for 
life,  and  but  few  students,  in  1878,  just  ten  years  after  the  first 
students  had  entered  its  doors  for  instruction. 

In  the  meantime  as  soon  as  the  school  had  been  successfully 
launched  the  mission  question  received  a  good  share  of  the  atten- 
tion of  the  Conference  sessions,  as  did  also  the  publication  inter- 
ests, but  these  being  discussed  elsewhere  in  this  book  need  no 
repetition  here.  During  recent  sessions  considerable  disagree- 
ment arose  among  different  factions  in  the  Conference  as  to  the 
desirability  of  remaining  affiliated  with  the  Federal  Council  of 
Churches  to  which  the  General  Conference  had  been  admitted 
some  time  ago.  At  the  1917  session  it  was  agreed  by  a  majority 
vote  of  the  delegates  present  to  discontinue  the  membership.  At 
the  same  session,  too,  the  question  of  secret  societies  was  dis- 
cussed and  a  committee  appointed  to  formulate  a  policy  of  action 
with  reference  to  such  congregations  as  permit  members  of  lodges 
in  their  churches. 


280  THE  MENNONITES 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  General  Conference  of  Mennon- 
ites  is  not  a  separate  division  of  the  church,  or  at  least  that  is  not 
its  aim.  It  is  rather  a  conference  whose  aim  is  the  ultimate 
union  of  all  branches  of  the  denomination,  any  or  all  of  which 
are  eligible  to  membership  in  the  Conference  if  they  so  desire. 
This  it  hopes  to  accomplish  along  the  lines  laid  down  in  1860. 
Few  limitations  other  than  such  fundamental  principles  as  have 
always  been  regarded  as  essential  to  Mennonitism,  including  as 
just  noted  anti-secrecy,  are  placed  upon  the  congregations  com- 
posing it.  Each  governs  itself  and  determines  its  own  policy. 
But  all  unite  in  carrying  out  certain  lines  of  Christian  activity, 
such  as  missions,  publication  work  and  evangelism.  The  purpose 
of  the  movement  is  best  set  forth  by  H.  P.  Krehbiel,  its  chief 
historian.     He  says : 

"The  churches  constituting  the  General  Conference  have  by 
their  union  not  become  something  different  from  what  they  were 
before.  Each  church  remains  just  what  it  was  and  retains  all 
peculiarities  she  had  if  she  chooses.  Each  church  retains  her 
individuality  as  well  as  her  independence.  It  is  not  a  separate 
class  or  division  of  Mennonites  which  may  be  distinguished  from 
others  by  special  doctrines  or  customs.  It  is  impossible  to  class 
the  Conference  as  such  a  division  because  her  membership  list 
contains  churches  which  differ  very  much  in  customs  and  special 
views,  and  which  to  this  day  retain  these  differences  precisely  as 
they  did  previously  to  uniting  with  the  Conference.  The  General 
Conference  is  therefore  in  no  sense  a  branch  or  division  of  the 
denomination." 

After  all,  however,  the  members  of  the  organization  neces- 
sarily have  certain  common  interests  and  religious  opinions  which 
differentiate  them  from  other  Mennonite  groups,  and  which  give 
them  many  of  the  characteristics  of  a  separate  branch  of  the 
church.  While  they  permit  a  great  diversity  of  practise  and  cus- 
tom, they  agree  in  such  fundamental  doctrines  as  rejection  of  in- 
fant baptism,  non-resistance,  opposition  to  the  oath,  anti-secrecy 
and  other  characteristic  Mennonite  doctrines.  In  1902  the  Con- 
ference authorized  the  translation  and  publishing  of  the  Cornells 


GENERAL  CONF.  OF  MEN.  OF  N.  A.  281 

Ris  Confession,  one  of  the  most  liberal  of  existing  Men- 
nonite  Confessions. 

Unlike  the  Old  Mennonites  and  the  Amish  and  several  of 
the  other  more  conservative  branches,  none  of  the  General  Con- 
ference congregations  demand  of  their  members  any  specific 
mode  of  dress.  Most  of  the  congregations  have  either  discarded 
or  have  never  practised  feetwashing  as  a  church  ordinance  with 
the  exception  of  a  number  of  the  conservative  Russian  churches, 
among  whom  the  practise  is  still  in  vogue.  Most  of  the  General 
Conference  churches  maintain  a  salaried  and  trained  ministry 
except  a  number  of  the  Russian  congregations,  where  the  old 
type  of  untrained,  unsalaried  preacher  is  still  the  rule. 

The  movement  for  union  along  the  lines  laid  down  by  the 
General  Conference  has  not  made  much  progress  among  the 
more  conservative  elements  of  the  older  American  Mennonites. 
Old  customs  and  traditions  are  too  strongly  entrenched  among 
these  and  they  are  now  too  well  organized  to  be  greatly  influ- 
enced by  any  liberal  and  progressive  movement  outside  their 
own  body.  Certain  influences,  however,  in  recent  years  have 
made  for  a  measure  of  unification  sentiment.  During  the  recent 
war  all  branches  of  the  denomination,  including  even  the  Old 
Order  Amish,  have  worked  togdher  at  different  times  in  the 
interests  of  their  common  non-resistant  doctrine.  Significant 
were  the  two  all-Mennonite  conventions  held  at  Berne,  Indiana, 
in  1913,  and  at  Carlock,  Illinois,  in  1916,  at  which  unofficial  rep- 
resentatives of  the  various  branches  of  the  denomination  came 
together  to  discuss  their  common  problems.  Auspicious,  too,  is 
the  co-operative  control  of  Bluffton  College  by  a  Board  of  Trus- 
tees representing  five  different  branches  of  the  church.  As  men 
work  together  in  a  common  cause  and  learn  to  know  each  other 
better,  they  become  less  suspicious  of  each  other  and  find  that 
their  differences  disappear.  Growth  of  the  General  Conference 
by  the  addition  of  new  isolated  congregations  will  perhaps  soon 
reach  its  limit.  May  the  next  step,  perhaps,  not  be  a  federation 
of  conferences  already  existing  in  the  interests  of  such  common 
enterprises  as  missions,  education  and  other  essential  underta- 
kings ? 


282  THE  MENNONITES 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

THE  CHURCH  AND  THE  STATE 
Oath  and  War 

On  no  other  points  of  their  faith  have  the  Mennonites  been 
so  often  misunderstood  as  on  their  attitude  toward  the  oath  and 
warfare.  Their  objection  to  the  oath  and  refusal  to  bear  arms 
have  both  been  repeatedly  misconstrued,  both  in  Europe  and 
America,  as  indicating  a  spirit  of  disloyalty  to  their  adopted 
country.  In  Pennsylvania  the  Mennonites  were  welcomed  by 
the  Quakers,  who  held  similar  views  on  these  questions,  but  the 
law  passed  by  the  English  Parliament  permitting  the  affirmation 
instead  of  the  oath  applied  to  Quakers  only.  Mennonites  and 
others  who  had  similar  scruples  against  the  taking  of  the  oath 
in  becoming  naturalized  were  compelled  to  petition  for  the  priv- 
ilege. The  Mennonites,  in  1717,  and  the  Amish,  in  1742,  were 
granted  the  rights  of  affirmation. 

In  Maryland  the  constitution  of  1776  specifically  mentions 
"Quakers,  Tunkers,  and  Menonists,"  to  whom  the  right  of  affirm- 
ation is  guaranteed  wherever  an  oath  would  otherwise  be  re- 
quired. Today  this  right  is  guaranteed  both  by  the  Federal 
Constitution  and  in  practically  every  State,  and  frequently  even 
those  not  belonging  to  a  non-resistant  faith  avail  themselves  of 
the  privilege. 

Exemption  from  military  service  was  not  always  so  easily 
secured,  but  conscientious  scruples  were  always  given  careful 
consideration  by  those  in  authority.  The  only  Colonies  in  which 
Mennonites  were  located  at  the  time  of  the  Revolutionary  War 
were  Pennsylvania,  Maryland  and  Virginia.  In  each  of  these 
Mennonites  were  exempted  from  military  musters,  which  seemed 
to  be  generally  provided  for  by  the  local  county  authorities  upon 


THE  CHURCH  AND  THE  STATE  283 

the  payment  of  a  sum  of  money  usually  called  a  fine.  In  Vir- 
ginia, however,  in  1777,  where  provisions  were  made  for  con- 
scription, Mennonites  in  case  they  should  be  drafted  for  service 
were  to  be  discharged  upon  furnishing  a  substitute,  who  was  to 
be  paid  by  a  levy  upon  the  membership  of  the  entire  church. 

After  the  war,  in  1790,  the  constitution  of  Pennsylvania 
declared  that  "those  who  conscientiously  scruple  to  bear  arms 
shall  not  be  compelled  to  bear  arms,  but  shall  pay  an  equiva- 
lent." A  law  of  Maryland,  in  1793,  provides  that  "Quakers, 
Mennonites,  and  Tunkers  and  all  others  who  are  conscientiously 
scrupulous  of  bearing  arms,  and  who  refuse  to  do  military  duty 
shall  pay  a  sum  of  three  dollars  annually.  The  Virginia  code 
of  laws  in  force,  in  1860,  provided  that  all  privates  refusing  to 
attend  military  musters  must  pay  a  fine  of  seventy-five  cents, 
which  of  course  the  Mennonites  freely  paid.  The  wars  of  1812 
and  of  1848,  as  well  as  the  war  of  1898,  were  all  fought  by  vol- 
unteers, and  consequently  there  was  no  occasion  to  test  the  faith 
of  the  non-resistant  churches. 

In  the  Civil  War  both  the  North  and  the  South  were  finally 
forced  to  resort  to  conscription.  The  Federal  act  of  February  24, 
1864,  exempted  those  having  conscientious  scruples,  permitting 
them  to  accept  hospital  service  when  drafted,  or  to  pay  $300  ex- 
emption money.  No  person,  however,  was  to  be  entitled  to  the 
benefit  of  this  clause  unless  his  declaration  of  conscientious  scru- 
ples "shall  be  supported  by  satisfactory  evidence  that  his  de- 
portment had  been  uniformly  consistent  with  such  declaration." 
This  exemption  clause,  it  will  be  observed,  differed  from  the  pro- 
vision permitting  substitutes,  by  which  one  could  secure  exemp- 
tion by  furnishing  a  substitute  at  such  price,  of  course,  as  the 
substitute  demanded.  Under  this  law  Mennonites  were  not  dis- 
turbed except  in  a  few  communities,  among  others  Fulton  county, 
Ohio,  where  a  mob,  objecting  to  any  discrimination  in  favor  of 
conscientious  scruples,  attacked  a  number  of  exempted  Men- 
nonites. 

In  the  South,  Virginia  resorted  to  universal  service  almost 
from  the  beginning,  and  no  exceptions  were  made  in  behalf  of 
religious  scruples.    A  number  of  Mennonites  from  Rockingham 


284  THE  MENNONITES 

county  were  called  into  the  army  in  1861.  These  refused  to 
fight.  Others  were  captured  attempting  to  escape  through  the 
lines  into  the  North.  These  were  imprisoned  in  Libby  Prison 
for  a  time  and  tried,  but  because  of  their  religious  convictions 
were  permitted  to  go  home.  Early  in  1862  Virginia  passed  a 
law  exempting  members  of  a  church  forbidding  the  bearing  of 
arms  upon  the  payment  of  $500,  and  the  further  sum  of  two 
per  cent,  of  the  assessed  valuation  of  all  taxable  property.  In  case 
of  the  refusal  of  such  members  to  comply  with  this  law  or  the 
inability  to  do  so,  they  were  to  be  taken  into  some  form  of  non- 
combatant  service. 

This  law,  however,  was  soon  superseded  in  the  same  year 
by  the  general  conscription  act  of  the  Confederate  Government, 
which  also  provided  for  the  exemption  of  members  of  the  "So- 
ciety of  Friends,  Association  of  Dunkards,  Nazarenes  and  Men- 
onists"  upon  the  payment  of  $500.  All  these  religious  denom- 
inations, being  opposed  to  both  slavery  and  war,  were  bitterly 
denounced  in  their  communities  by  those  not  of  their  faith,  but 
they  were  not  compelled  to  take  up  arms  by  the  Government 
until  the  summer  of  1864,  when,  because  of  the  great  need  of 
men,  the  Confederate  Congress  repealed  all  exemptions.  A  num- 
ber of  the  young  men  escaped  through  the  lines  into  western 
Virginia  and  into  the  North.  The  Mennonite  communities,  being 
located  in  the  heart  of  the  Shenandoah  valley,  also  suffered 
heavily  from  the  numerous  raids  made  through  the  valley. 

The  Canadian  Government  has  been  more  considerate  of 
conscientious  scruples  even  than  the  United  States.  As  early 
as  1808,  Ontario  passed  a  law  exempting  "Quakers,  Menonists 
and  Tunkers"  from  militia  service,  upon  an  annual  payment  of 
twenty  shillings  in  time  of  peace,  and  five  pounds  when  the 
militia  should  be  called  out  for  defence.  Refusal  to  comply  with 
this  law  was  to  be  punished  by  a  jail  sentence  of  not  more  than 
a  month.  In  1839,  after  the  union  of  the  Upper  and  Lower 
Provinces,  the  fine  was  raised  to  ten  pounds  instead  of  five,  and 
later  several  minor  changes  were  made  in  the  law,  but  its  general 
purport  remained  the  same.  In  1868,  after  the  formation  of  the 
present  Dominion  of  Canada,  an  act  was  passed  exempting  Qua- 


THE  CHURCH  AND  THE  STATE  285 

kers,  Mennonites,  Dunkards  and  all  members  of  other  religious 
denominations  opposed  to  war  from  militia  service  under  such 
conditions  as  the  Governor-in-Council  might  prescribe.  This 
law  was  still  in  force  at  the  time  the  recent  war  broke  out,  al- 
though perhaps  not  generally  known.  The  Conscription  Act  of 
1917  exempted  from  combatant  service  all  religious  bodies  op- 
posed to  war  in  principle.  The  clause  in  this  act  which  exempts 
only  from  combatant  service,  it  will  be  observed,  differs  from 
the  act  of  1868,  which  exempts  from  all  service.  The  act  of 
1868  was  the  basis  on  which  the  Canadian  Government  promised 
the  Russian  Mennonites  who  settled  in  Manitoba  in  1873  com- 
plete military  exemption  as  a  condition  of  their  migration  to 
that  Province.  The  State  of  Kansas  also  guaranteed  exemption 
from  military  musters  to  all  those  conscientiously  opposed  to 
bearing  arms,  in  behalf  of  the  Russian  Mennonites  in  1873.  This 
guarantee  was  confirmed  as  late  as  1915,  but  it  is  of  no  value, 
since  it  is  subservient  to  the  Federal  law  on  the  subject.  In 
fact,  nearly  half  of  the  States  in  the  Union  exempt  by  constitu- 
tional provisions  from  militia  service  those  conscientiously  op- 
posed to  such  service. 

When  the  recent  Canadian  Conscription  act  was  passed  the 
Government,  upon  being  reminded  of  this  early  law  and  promise 
by  a  committee  of  Mennonites  from  the  western  Provinces,  gra- 
ciously agreed  to  abide  by  the  promises  made  to  the  early  Rus- 
sian settlers  in  1873,  and  granted  entire  exemption  to  all  the 
descendants,  both  baptized  and  unbaptized,  of  the  original  Rus- 
sians. Whether  this  liberal  provision  would  apply  also  to  the 
Mennonites  of  Ontario,  who  were  not  a  party  to  the  agreement 
of  1873,  but  were  included  under  the  act  of  1868,  at  first  seemed 
doubtful.  A  number  of  Ontario  young  Mennonites  were  taken 
into  the  army  at  first,  and  upon  refusing  to  serve  were  court- 
martialed  and  given  a  two-year  prison  sentence,  but  which  was 
later  changed  to  farm  furloughs.  As  just  indicated,  the  laws 
of  1868  and  1917  were  not  quite  similar,  but  the  Canadian  Govern- 
ment finally  decided  to  abide  by  the  more  liberal  provisions  of 
1868  and  the  promises  of  1873,  and  thus  granted  the  Ontario 
Mennonites  the  same  gracious  consideration  as  that  given  to 


286  THE  MENNONITES 

members  of  the  church  in  Manitoba  and  the  western  Provinces. 

The  Canadian  churches  also  took  a  stand  in  the  beginning 
of  the  war  against  contributing  to  war  loans.  But  upon  the 
promise  of  the  Government  at  the  time  of  the  last  loan  that 
Mennonite  money  was  to  be  used  only  for  relief  purposes  and 
not  for  direct  war  purposes,  the  Russian  churches  all  endorsed 
the  loans,  and  it  is  estimated  that  they  raised  about  a  half  million 
dollars  in  the  western  Provinces.  Red  Cross  and  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
campaigns  they  supported  heartily.  In  the  last  drive  each 
farmer  was  expected  to  contribute  fifty  dollars  for  each  quarter 
section  of  land,  and  business  and  professional  men  accordingly. 
It  is  estimated  that  some  $200,000  was  raised  for  this  work,  an 
average  of  over  six  dollars  for  every  man,  woman  and  child 
among  them. 

Few  of  the  young  men  enlisted  in  the  service  and  such  as 
did  were  usually  considered  as  having  forfeited  their  member- 
ship. The  price  paid  by  the  Mennonites,  however,  for  their 
exemptions  was  disfranchisement  for  the  period  of  the  war, 
The  Dominion  Government  was  considerate  of  Mennonite  scru- 
ples throughout  the  war,  but  in  some  localities,  especially  in  the 
extreme  West,  considerable  bitterness  began  to  develop  near 
the  close  over  a  new  problem.  The  question  as  to  whether  the 
exemption  applied  to  Mennonites  who  should  enter  Canada  after 
the  passing  of  the  Conscription  act  was  precipitated  by  the  migra- 
tion of  a  number  of  Mennonites  from  'the  States,  especially  the 
Huterites  from  South  Dakota,  who  bought  large  tracts  of  land 
in  Saskatchewan  and  Alberta  for  the  purpose  of  escaping  service 
and  intimidation  in  the  United  States.  Appeals  were  made  to 
the  Government  by  numerous  local  organizations  not  only  to 
prevent  the  settlement,  but  even  to  repeal  the  original  exemption 
clause.  The  Government  took  no  formal  action  on  the  matter, 
but  it  seemed  the  opinion  of  many  of  those  in  authority  that  such 
immigrants  were  not  entitled  to  the  exemption,  and  had  the  war 
continued  much  longer,  measures  would  perhaps  have  been  taken 
to  restrict  the  privileges  of  the  new  arrivals.  As  it  was  much 
bitter  feeling  was  developing  throughout  the  Northwest,  espe- 
cially against  the   Huterites,   who   claimed  to   be  Mennonites. 


^JOIKhm^- .                &sl  "A 

iiLi 

Pi 

'■-.*  '■* 

£1 

-*  i 

Jm 

i^1H*! 

Administration  Building. 


Ropp  Hall. 


BLUFFTON  COLLEGE 


THE  CHURCH  AND  THE  STATE  287 

Whether  the  same  objection  to  their  arrival  will  continue  now 
that  the  war  is  over  remains  to  be  seen,  but  likely  not.  The 
latter,  too,  are  not  sure  that  they  made  a  wise  choice  in  selling 
their  fine  homes  in  South  Dakota  at  such  a  sacrifice,  and  many 
are  wishing  themselves  back  again. 

Within  the  United  States  this  war  has  tried  the  faith  of 
the  Mennonites  as  no  other  American  war  ever  did.  The  struggle 
was  on  such  an  enormous  scale,  and  has  demanded  such  a  com- 
plete mobilization  of  the  Nation's  resources  that  every  single 
individual  has  been  called  upon  as  in  no  other  war  to  bear  his 
share  of  the  burden.  The  universal  service  law,  the  popular 
Liberty  Bond  campaigns,  and  Red  Cross  and  Y.  M.  C.  A.  fund 
drives  have  immediately  singled  out  and  marked  as  "slackers" 
those  who  would  not  participate,  no  matter  what  their  motives 
may  have  been. 

The  National  Congress,  however,  influenced  by  numerous 
petitions  from  the  non-resistant  churches,  by  influential  Quakers, 
the  example  of  the  English  conscription  act,  and  our  own  former 
precedents,  included  an  exemption  clause  in  the  conscription 
law  passed  May  18,  1917.  This  clause  was  found  in  the  bill  as 
it  came  from  the  hands  of  the  Committee  on  Military  Affairs. 
It  was  debated,  several  attempts  were  made  to  amend  it;  and 
one  vote  was  taken  in  the  Senate  to  repeal  it,  but  it  stands  now 
practically  as  it  came  from  the  hands  of  the  committee.  The 
clause  exempts  on  religious  grounds : 

"Members  of  any  well  organized  religious  sect  or  organi- 
zation at  present  organized  and  existing  whose  creed  or  princi- 
ples forbid  its  members  to  participate  in  war  in  any  form  and 
whose  religious  convictions  are  against  war  or  participation 
therein  in  accordance  with  the  creed  or  principles  of  the  said 
organization.  But  no  person  shall  be  exempted  from  service  in 
any  capacity  that  the  President  shall  declare  non-combatant." 

Under  this  law  a  number  of  young  Mennonites  were  drafted 
and  taken  to  various  camps  during  the  summer  and  fall  of  1917. 
In  the  meantime  the  church  leaders  were  formulating  the  policy 
for  the  church  at  large  toward  the  war  problem.  The  view 
became  quite  general  during  the  summer  that  in  order  to  main- 


288  THE  MENNONITES 

tain  their  non-resistant  principles  they  could  not  even  accept 
non-combatant  service  if  it  was  to  be  conducted  under  the  mil- 
itary department  of  the  Government.  The  Gospel  Herald,  the 
most  conservative  of  the  church  papers,  and  representing  over 
half  of  the  constituency,  not  only  opposed  the  acceptance  of 
non-combatant  service,  but  even  declared  it  inconsistent  to  par- 
ticipate in  Red  Cross,  Y.  M.  C.  A.  and  Liberty  Loan  campaigns, 
and  all  other  campaigns  for  direct  war  purposes.  Several  of 
the  other  papers  reflected  the  same  opinion,  but  none  of  them 
were  so  outspoken.  The  Mennonite,  organ  of  the  General  Con- 
ference, while  thoroughly  in  sympathy  with  the  non-resistant 
attitude,  advocated  the  purchase  of  bonds,  and  participation  in 
all  the  auxiliary  war  fund  drives.  A  meeting  held  at  Goshen, 
Indiana,  July  9-10,  1918,  of  representatives  from  practically  all 
of  the  branches  of  the  denomination,  declared  against  entering 
non-combatant  service  under  the  military  arm  of  the  Govern- 
ment, and  sent  a  petition  to  the  President  stating  their  decision. 
During  all  this  time,  too,  a  number  of  special  committees  from 
the  various  branches  of  the  church  were  in  communication  with 
the  War  Department  working  in  behalf  of  some  sort  of  service 
not  under  the  military  organization. 

The  War  Department  in  the  meantime  found  the  problem 
of  the  conscientious  objector  a  difficult  one.  Many  of  the  young 
men  from  all  branches  of  the  church  refused  to  put  on  the 
uniform  and  to  perform  work  of  any  sort.  These  were  frequently 
roughly  handled  by  petty  officers  who  had  little  sympathy  for 
their  scruples  nor  the  law  under  which  they  were  permitted  to 
enter  non-combatant  service.  In  all  the  camps  they  were  sub- 
jected to  ridicule  and  were  considered  fair  game  for  any  army 
officer  or  Y.  M.  C.  A.  secretary  who  cared  to  take  a  hand  in 
converting  them.  Even  some  of  the  higher  officers  in  some  of 
the  camps  were  entirely  out  of  sympathy  with  the  liberal  policy 
of  the  War  Department,  and  consequently  permitted  unnecessary 
abuse  of  the  conscientious  objectors,  as  those  were  called  who 
refused  to  work  in  the  camps  even  at  non-combatant  work,  and 
usually  refused  to  don  the  uniform.  In  Camp  Funston  the  worst 
abuses  prevailed,  and  two  officers,  a  major  and  a  captain,  were 


THE  CHURCH  AND  THE  STATE  289 

removed  for  negligence  in  permitting  rough  treatment  of  the 
conscientious  objectors.  Some  of  these  men  were  brutally 
handled  in  the  guard  house ;  they  were  bayonetted,  beaten  and 
tortured  by  various  forms  of  the  water  cure ;  eighteen  men  one 
night  were  aroused  from  their  sleep  and  held  under  cold  showers 
until  one  became  hysterical.  At  another  time  a  man  had  the 
hose  played  upon  his  head  until  he  became  unconscious.  The 
War  Department  finally  was  forced  to  interfere  a  short  time 
before  the  armistice  was  signed  with  the  result  noted  above. 

Fortunately  for  the  Mennonites  both  President  Wilson  and 
Secretary  Baker  displayed  the  greatest  consideration  for  the 
scruples  of  the  sincere  objectors.  These  abuses  were  not  per- 
petrated with  the  consent  of  the  War  Department,  and  those 
guilty  of  them  were  usually  punished  as  soon  as  discovered. 
Secretary  Baker  stretched  the  Conscription  act  to  the  limit  to 
meet  the  situation.  The  Government  was  rather  slow  in  working 
out  a  satisfactory  policy,  but  by  the  spring  of  1918  a  fairly 
satisfactory  system  of  taking  care  of  the  conscientious  objector 
was  evolved.  The  abuses  above  described  continued  in  some 
of  the  camps,  however,  throughout  the  period  of  the  war,  due  to 
the  inability  of  the  War  Department  to  keep  in  close  touch  with 
all  the  details  of  the  work  of  the  vast  military  machine  in  charge 
of  organizing  the  army. 

On  March  16,  1918,  upon  the  suggestion  of  the  War  Sec- 
retary Congress  passed  a  law  permitting  the  department  to  fur- 
lough out  certain  men  in  camp  for  agricultural  purposes  when- 
ever it  was  deemed  advisable.  On  March  20,  the  President  for 
the  first  time  defined  non-combatant  service.  On  April  22,  the 
War  Department  completed  its  program  for  the  conscientious 
objectors  who  refused  all  work.  First  of  all  a  special  Board 
of  Inquiry,  consisting  of  Julian  W.  Mack,  of  the  Federal  Bench ; 
Dean  H.  F.  Stone  of  the  Columbia  Law  School,  and  Major 
Richard  C.  Stoddard  of  the  United  States  Army,  was  appointed 
to  visit  the  various  camps  in  which  conscientious  objectors  had 
been  segregated  and  weed  out  those  who  were  sincere  from  the 
spurious  ones.  Those  who  were  found  to  be  sincere  were  to  be 
sent  to  a  detention  camp  at  Fort  Leavenworth,  from  whence 

10 


290  THE  MENNONITES 

they  were  to  be  furloughed  out  for  farm  work.  Court-martial 
was  provided  for  three  classes — the  insincere,  those  who  were 
defiant,  and  such  as  were  engaged  in  active  propaganda  among 
others.  The  first  class  was  to  be  sent  into  the  ranks,  while  the 
other  two  were  to  be  given  prison  sentence.  This  program  was 
carried  out  only  in  part.  The  sincere  objectors  were  not  sent 
to  the  Fort  Leavenworth  detention  camp,  but  were  furloughed 
out  for  farm  work  directly  from  the  camps  to  which  they  had 
been  sent  originally.  Such  as  went  to  Fort  Leavenworth  did  so 
under  prison  sentence. 

The  young  men  in  the  meantime  in  whose  behalf  the  church 
was  formulating  its  advice  and  the  Government  its  war  policy 
were  compelled  to  work  out  their  own  line  of  action.  Not  all 
followed  the  recommendations  of  the  Goshen  meeting  already 
referred  to.  As  to  the  exact  number  who  accepted  some  form  of 
non-combatant  service  is  not  quite  certain,  since  statistics  have 
not  yet  been  gathered.  Neither  has  anyone  ascertained  as  yet 
how  many  Mennonites  were  in  all  the  camps.  But  since  many 
had  deferred  classification  both  because  of  occupational  and  de- 
pendency reasons,  the  number  was  less  than  the  general  average 
of  other  classes.  Perhaps  between  fifteen  hundred  and  two 
thousand  all  told  were  in  camp  and  overseas  during  the  war. 

Of  these  it  would  seem  from  such  partial  information  as  is 
now  available  that  a  large  majority,  take  the  denomination  as  a 
whole,  refused  service,  of  any  sort ;  a  strong  minority  accepted 
non-combatant  service  with  the  uniform ;  while  a  very  few  en- 
tered the  regular  service.  The  church  as  a  whole  and  especially 
the  leadership  stood  quite  unitedly  in  favor  of  maintaining  the 
non-resistant  doctrine.  Among  the  young  men,  however,  in 
different  sections  and  in  isolated  congregations  there  was  some 
difference  of  practise.  The  following  random  observations  have 
come  to  the  casual  notice  of  the  writer.  The  Huterites  were  the 
only  group  whose  young  men  stood  as  a  unit  against  service 
of  any  sort.  The  Krimmer  Brethren  with  a  membership  of 
nearly  one  thousand,  had  fifty  young  men  in  camp.  Twenty- 
eight  of  these  were  conscientious  objectors;  twenty  took  non- 
combatant  service;  and  two  entered  the  regular  service,  one  of 


THE  CHURCH  AND  THE  STATE  291 

whom  was  killed  on  the  battlefield.  The  Central  Illinois  Confer- 
ence with  a  membership  of  twenty-six  hundred  reported  in 
August  in  1918,  seventy-two  men  in  the  service.  Of  these 
twenty-six  had  enlisted ;  thirty-eight  were  in  the  regular  service ; 
twenty-seven  were  non-combatants,  and  only  five  were  classed 
as  conscientious  objectors  who  refused  all  work.  Of  the  Old 
Mennonites  and  Amish  a  large  majority  were  conscientious  ob- 
jectors, though  some  of  these  accepted  camp  work.  Among  the 
Russians,  both  the  General  Conference  and  Bruedergemeinde, 
perhaps  three-fourths  of  those  in  Kansas  and  Oklahoma,  were 
of  the  conscientious  objector  class,  while  the  remainder  took 
non-combatant  service.  Barely  a  dozen  among  the  Russians 
throughout  the  entire  West  took  regular  service.  On  the  Pacific 
coast  and  in  Minnesota  there  were  a  larger  number  of  non- 
combatants  and  fewer  conscientious  objectors.  The  Eastern 
District  Conference  Mennonites  generally  accepted  non-combat- 
ant service.  The  Mennonite  Brethren  in  Christ  were  mostly  of 
the  conscientious  objector  class.  The  large  Swiss  community 
at  Bluffton,  Ohio,  had  a  few  men  in  the  regular  service,  but  all 
the  rest  were  non-combatants.  None  were  conscientious  object- 
ors. The  Swiss  congregation  at  Berne,  on  the  other  hand,  had 
a  number  of  conscientious  objectors,  several  of  whom  were  sent 
to  Fort  Leavenworth.  One  congregation  in  Iowa  perhaps  stood 
alone  in  having  practically  all  of  its  young  men  in  the  regular 
service. 

Mennonites  were  by  no  means  the  only  people  who  refused 
to  enter  the  army.  Quakers,  Dunkards  and  other  peace  denom- 
inations, totalling  perhaps  an  entire  population  of  one  million, 
all  came  under  the  exemption  clause  of  the  Conscription  act. 
Both  the  Quakers  and  the  Dunkards,  however,  accepted  the  non- 
combatant  service  prescribed  by  the  law  far  more  generally 
than  did  the  Mennonites.  This  circumstance,  together  with  the 
fact  that  many  of  the  latter  were  of  more  recent  German  origin, 
explains  why  the  Mennonites  were  given  more  unfavorable  pub- 
licity during  the  war  than  the  other  non-resistant  denominations. 

The  original  clause  exempting  only  members  of  well  recog- 
nized religious  denominations  was  soon  stretched  by  the  War 


292  THE  MENNONITES 

Department  to  cover  conscientious  objectors  of  any  religious 
organization  or  none.  Scruples  had  to  be  on  religious  grounds, 
however.  Objection  to  war  on  political  grounds  was  not  recog- 
nized as  a  valid  reason  for  any  degree  of  exemption.  The  fol- 
lowing extract  from  an  article  written  by  the  Vice  Chairman  of 
the  National  Civil  Liberties  Bureau  in  the  Survey  of  December 
7,  1918,  summarizes  the  status  of  the  various  conscientious  ob- 
jectors and  shows  that  they  were  a  varied  company: 

"Of  the  twelve  or  fifteen  hundred  conscientious  objectors 
examined  by  the  Board  of  Inquiry,  approximately  eighty  per 
cent,  are  Christians,  members  of  various  sects  opposed  to  war, 
of  which  the  Quakers  are  the  best  known.  The  other  twenty 
per  cent,  are  international  socialists,  Tolstoians,  Jews,  and  other 
objectors  hard  to  classify.  Jewish  objectors  on  simple  religious 
grounds  are  few ;  Roman  Catholics  still  fewer.  Only  one  I.  W.  W. 
appeared  before  the  Board,  and  only  three  Negroes.  Most  of 
the  objectors  rest  their  cases  on  a  simple,  rather  naive  religious 
prohibition  of  war ;  some  of  them  base  their  position  on  a  lofty 
and  carefully  thought  out  idealism — Christian,  socialistic  and 
humanitarian." 

Major  Kellogg,  a  later  member  of  the  Board  of  Inquiry,  in 
a  recent  book  entitled  "The  Conscientious  Objector,"  states  that 
twenty-one  hundred  objectors  were  examined  by  the  Board, 
half  of  whom  he  estimates  were  Mennonites.  Of  these  fifteen 
hundred  were  recommended  for  farm  or  industrial  furloughs ; 
eighty  for  work  in  the  Friends'  Reconstruction  Unit ;  three  hun- 
dred and  ninety  for  non-combatant  service ;  and  one  hundred 
and  twenty  were  sent  back  into  the  regular  service  as  insincere. 
The  above  number  does  not  include  thirteen  hundred  who  took 
non-combatant  service,  nor  four  hundred  who  were  sent  to  Fort 
Leavenworth. 

An  interesting  study  made  of  one  thousand  conscientious 
objectors  in  twelve  army  camps  by  a  special  psychological  board 
classifies  those  studied  as  follows : 

Mennonites  554 

Friends    80 

International  Bible  Students 60 


THE  CHURCH  AND  THE  STATE  293 

Dunkards    37 

Israelites  of  the  House  of  David 32 

Church  of  Christ 31 

Church  of  God  (colored) 20 

Seventh  Day  Adventist 20 

Pentecostal  Assembly    13 

All  other  denominations 206 

The  conclusions  of  this  special  board  were  that  the  consci- 
entious objectors  ranked  above  the  average  in  intelligence,  al- 
though Major  Kellogg  declared  that  of  the  Mennonites  who 
came  under  his  observation  less  than  ten  per  cent,  had  gone 
beyond  the  eighth  grade  in  their  educational  progress.  He 
credits  them,  however,  with  absolute  sincerity  and  with  a  thor- 
ough knowledge  of  their  Bibles. 

Of  the  four  hundred  conscientious  objectors  confined  in 
the  disciplinary  barracks  at  Fort  Leavenworth  at  the  close  of 
the  war,  only  about  one-third  were  Mennonites.  So  far  as  the 
Mennonites  and  other  religious  objectors  were  concerned  these 
were  practically  all  here  because  of  the  wilful  misrepresentations 
of  local  courts  martial.  The  law  provided  only  that  the  insin- 
cere and  defiant  be  given  prison  sentence.  The  "wilful  disobe- 
dience of  orders  of  officers"  which  constituted  the  charge  against 
practically  all  of  these,  of  course,  in  reality  meant  the  refusal 
of  sincere  objectors  to  obey  orders  which  ran  counter  to  their 
religious  convictions. 

Some  of  these  prisoners  at  Fort  Leavenworth,  including  a 
few  Mennonites,  suffered  tortures  that  would  have  done  credit 
to  the  medieval  Inquisition  at  the  hands  of  prison  guards  and 
officials  for  refusing  to  perform  certain  service  which  they  re- 
garded as  inconsistent  with  their  religious  convictions.  They 
were  regarded  by  the  prison  authorities  as  ordinary  criminals, 
and  not  as  political  prisoners.  Some  refused  to  work  on  the 
ground  that  the  prison  was  a  part  of  the  military  system  ;  others, 
for  various  reasons,  refused  to  put  on  the  uniform ;  still  others 
refused  to  work  because  of  sympathy  for  those  who  were  dis- 
ciplined for  unjust  causes.  Some  of  these  men  may  have  carried 
their  logic  to  unnecessary  lengths,  but  no  matter  what  the  provo- 


294  THE  MENNONITES 

cation,  there  was  no  justification  for  the  harsh  measures  adopted 
in  breaking  the  spirit  of  these  men  whose  only  crime  was  a 
tender  conscience.  Among  the  methods  resorted  to  were  "con- 
tinuous solitary  confinement  in  cells  in  a  hole  under  the  base- 
ment of  the  prison,  sleeping  on  a  cement  floor  between  foul 
blankets  full  of  vermin,  fed  every  alternate  two  weeks  on  bread 
and  water,  forbidden  to  read  and  write  or  talk,  manacled  in  a 
standing  posture  for  nine  hours  a  day  to  the  bars  of  the  cell. 
In  addition  they  were  frequently  beaten  and  tortured  by  the 
guards." 

Among  those  given  this  treatment  were  several  Mennonites. 
Two  Huterite  young  men  died  as  a  result  of  exposure  and  torture 
received  at  the  hands  of  prison  guards.  Two  young  Amishmen 
sent  here  from  Camp  Sherman  refused  to  don  the  prison  uniform 
because  their  creed  forbade  them  to  wear  clothes  with  buttons. 
Both  were  forcibly  disrobed  by  guards  and  held  under  cold 
showers  until  they  were  thoroughly  chilled.  One  of  them  was 
dragged  across  the  cell  room  by  the  hair,  knocked  down  upon 
the  cement  floor  and  then  pulled  up  by  the  ears  and  otherwise 
roughly  handled.  As  a  result  of  this  treatment  both  of  them 
submitted  to  prison  labor  contrary  to  their  religious  convictions. 

The  National  Civil  Liberties  Bureau,  together  with  such 
journals  as  the  Survey,  Nation  and  the  New  Republic,  gave 
these  abuses  of  the  conscientious  objectors  in  the  Leavenworth 
prison  wide  publicity  with  the  result  that  a  short  time  ago  the 
War  Department  ordered  the  abolition  of  manacling  and  other 
severe  methods  of  punishment.  Still  more  recently,  January  25, 
1919,  one  hundred  and  thirteen  of  the  conscientious  objectors, 
mostly  Mennonites,  were  honorably  discharged  from  the  army 
and  released  from  prison.  As  stated  about  one  hundred  of  these 
prisoners  in  Fort  Leavenworth  were  Mennonites,  principally 
from  the  western  States,  and  largely  from  the  Russian  churches. 

It  is  only  fair  to  say,  perhaps,  that  the  large  majority  of 
the  Mennonites  at  Fort  Leavenworth  had  little  cause  to  complain 
of  their  treatment  as  prisoners.  It  was  only  those  who  because 
of  their  tender  consciences  refused  to  perform  the  prison  work 


Convention  of  Young  American  Mennonites  in  Reconstruction  Work 
at  Clermont-en-Argonne,  Meuse,  France,  June  20,  1919. 


Clermont  Hill  Where  Convention  Met.  Ruins  in  Foreground. 


THE  CHURCH  AND  THE  STATE  295 

assigned  them  and  to  put  on  the  prison  garb  who  were  given 
the  drastic  treatment  described  above. 

These  hundred,  of  course,  constituted  only  a  small  portion 
of  the  Mennonite  conscientious  objectors.  The  vast  majority 
of  them  were  furloughed  out  for  farm  work  directly  from  their 
local  camps.  A  number  were  permitted  to  enter  the  reconstruc- 
tion work  carried  on  by  the  Friends'  Reconstruction  Unit.  The 
furlough  system  worked  fairly  well,  but  in  some  localities  the 
non-Mennonite  population  objected  to  the  presence  of  farm  hands 
from  the  camps  and  they  had  to  be  sent  back. 

As  to  participation  in  the  various  campaigns  for  war  and 
relief  work  there  was  a  diversity  of  opinions  and  practise  during 
the  war.  The  leadership  at  first  was  quite  generally  agreed 
except  among  the  more  liberal  congregations  against  any  partici- 
pation. But  the  pressure  from  local  committees  in  most  locali- 
ties became  so  great  that  in  almost  every  community  there  was 
a  large  number  that  supported  the  various  campaigns  for  funds. 
The  Old  Mennonites,  Amish,  Defenceless,  Reformed  Mennonites 
and  the  Mennonite  Brethren  opposed  all  participation,  but  most 
of  them  under  compulsion  made  some  contribution  to  the  various 
funds  and  bought  bonds.  Several  attempts  were  made  to  escape 
the  purchase  of  bonds  directly  by  depositing  money  in  local 
banks  for  a  stipulated  number  of  years,  but  which  it  was  under- 
stood was  not  to  be  used  for  buying  bonds,  although  it  might 
release  other  money  to  be  thus  invested.  In  several  localities 
scruples  against  supporting  the  war  with  money  was  satisfied 
by  promising  that  money  contributed  would  be  used  for  the 
purchase  of  food,  and  not  for  ammunition  and  other  means 
of  warfare. 

The  Russians  in  the  West  as  a  rule  contributed  quite  freely 
to  Y.  M.  C.  A.  and  Red  Cross  funds,  but  hesitated  to  buy  bonds, 
although  under  compulsion  many  did  so.  The  Middle  District 
and  the  Eastern  District  of  the  General  Conference,  and  the 
Central  Illinois  Conference  bought  quite  freely,  and  contributed 
quite  liberally  to  all  funds. 

Besides  these  funds  the  Old  Mennonites  and  the  Amish, 
assisted  by  the  Central  Illinois  Conference  and  the  Defenceless 


296  THE  MENNONITES 

Mennonites,  contributed  heavily  toward  reconstruction  work  in 
France.  Up  to  date  over  $300,000  has  been  collected  and  the 
work  is  still  going  on.  Since  the  war  has  been  closed  the  Gov- 
ernment has  given  them  a  new  field  of  relief  work  in  Armenia. 
The  first  relief  ship  with  a  number  of  volunteer  workers  left  in 
early  February,  1919,  for  that  new  field  of  labor.  The  Russian 
churches  are  also  just  beginning  to  collect  funds  for  relief  work 
among  their  own  brethren  in  South  Russia  and  Galicia. 

In  spite  of  these  efforts,  however,  and  in  striking  contrast 
to  the  considerate  treatment  accorded  them  by  the  Federal 
Government,  Mennonites  in  most  communities  were  harshly 
criticized  and  frequently  abused  by  the  non-Mennonite  popula- 
tion. Throughout  central  Illinois  a  number  of  church  buildings 
were  painted  yellow  by  irresponsible  hoodlum  elements,  as  was 
the  case  also  in  many  other  sections  of  the  country.  In  Kansas 
several  men  were  tarred  and  feathered.  The  most  serious  attacks 
were  made  upon  the  German  speaking  Russians  in  Oklahoma. 
One  minister  was  seized  by  a  mob  and  strung  up  a  telegraph 
pole,  but  rescued  by  local  officials.  Two  other  men  were  at- 
tacked and  driven  out  of  their  community  for  preaching  the 
Mennonite  doctrine  of  non-resistance.  Two  Mennonite  church 
houses  were  burned  down,  as  was  also  a  barn  which  was  being 
used  as  a  temporary  meeting  place.  In  Ohio  one  prominent 
minister  was  called  from  a  prayer  meeting  and  had  his  hair 
shorn  because  his  liberal  donation  to  the  Red  Cross  was  not 
considered  large  enough  by  the  mob  which  attacked  him.  Every- 
where men  were  intimidated  and  abused  by  local  committees  for 
hesitating  to  purchase  bonds  or  contribute  to  the  various  war 
funds,  although  Mennonites  as  a  whole  gave  a  great  deal  more 
to  relief  work  than  those  who  abused  them.  In  South  Dakota 
the  Huterites,  after  making  liberal  contributions,  but  refusing 
the  excessive  demand  made  by  the  local  county  committee,  had 
hundreds  of  their  sheep  and  cattle  driven  away  and  sold,  the 
proceeds  from  which  were  to  be  invested  in  war  funds.  The 
perpetrators,  fearing  prosecution  for  their  actions,  would  have 
been  glad  later  to  return  the  money,  but  the  Huterites  demanded 
their  stock. 


THE  CHURCH  AND  THE  STATE  297 

Comparatively  few  communities  escaped  some  form  of  in- 
timidation or  abuse  from  local  mobs,  or  even  Councils  of  Defence 
and  self-styled  Vigilance  Committees.  The  newspapers,  too, 
both  local  and  metropolitan,  throughout  the  entire  country,  were 
most  bitter  against  the  non-resistant  churches,  and  especially 
the  Mennonites,  and  many  were  unscrupulous  in  their  attempts 
to  stir  up  feeling  against  them.  Few  of  the  papers  and  few  of 
the  local  communities  were  in  sympathy  with  the  liberal  policy 
the  Government  followed  toward  the  conscientious  objectors. 
Only  a  few  of  the  journals  like  the  Survey,  the  New  Republic  and 
the  Nation  had  the  courage  to  defend  those  who  refused  to  enter 
the  war  because  of  their  religious  convictions. 

The  Government  authorities  were  quite  lenient,  too,  toward 
Mennonite  publications  and  church  leaders,  who,  under  the  guar- 
antee of  religious  liberty,  were  permitted  considerable  freedom 
in  advising  their  constituencies  against  participating  in  war  ac- 
tivities. One  editor  of  a  Mennonite  paper,  however,  was  fined 
$500  for  printing  an  objectionable  article.  Most  of  the  editors 
were  wise  enough  in  their  papers  to  merely  state  the  position  of 
the  church  on  all  war  questions,  which  under  the  guarantee  of 
religious  liberty  they  had  a  perfect  right  to  do,  but  not  to  urge 
any  opposition  to  the  policies  of  the  Government  which  under  the 
Espionage  act  they  could  have  been  prosecuted  for.  A  number 
of  the  Old  Mennonite  ministers  who  signed  the  Yellow  Creek 
Conference  resolutions  advising  the  Mennonite  young  men  against 
accepting  non-combatant  service  were  interviewed  by  Federal 
officials,  and  warned  not  to  interfere  too  seriously  with  war 
measures.  Judging  from  remarks  made  by  some  of  these  officials 
to  outside  parties,  it  would  appear  that  had  the  war  continued 
much  longer  several  of  the  church  leaders  who  were  most  out- 
spoken against  participating  in  the  various  war  work  campaigns 
would  have  been  placed  under  certain  restrictions  for  the  period 
of  the  war. 

What  effect  this  war  will  have  upon  the  non-resistants  in 
the  future  it  is  difficult,  of  course,  to  tell.  American  Mennonites 
through  a  weeding  out  process  have  received  from  Europe  those 
who   strongly  oppose  war,  and  for  that   reason  non-resistance 


298  THE  MENNONITES 

has  always  been  a  cardinal  doctrine  in  the  American  church. 
The  bitter  opposition  during  the  recent  war  of  the  general  public 
to  all  forms  of  exemption  would  indicate  that  if  miltarism  should 
become  the  settled  policy  of  the  Nation,  and  especially  if  uni- 
versal military  service  should  unfortunately  become  compulsory, 
it  would  become  increasingly  difficult  to  maintain  the  non-resist- 
ant position.  Let  us  hope,  however,  that  the  newly  created 
League  of  Nations  may  make  militarism  unnecessary,  and  that 
the  world  may  never  again  have  to  pass  through  such  a  trying 
time  as  these  past  four  years  have  been. 


>v 


Old  Wadsworth   School. 


SCHOOLS  AND  MISSIONS  299 


CHAPTER  XIX 


SCHOOLS  AND  MISSIONS 


The  first  Mennonite  settlers  in  America  in  all  the  immigra- 
tions were  for  the  most  part  a  rural  people,  and  without  much 
opportunity  for  extended  schooling.  They  were  usually  of  the 
pioneer  class,  with  little  opportunity  nor  inclination  to  educate 
their  young  people  beyond  the  bare  rudiments  of  learning.  In 
Pennsylvania  there  was  no  public  school  system  during  the 
eighteenth  century,  and  each  community  was  at  liberty  to  work 
out  its  own  school  policy  or  none  at  all.  In  Germantown  an 
academy  was  established  quite  early  with  Pastorious  as  teacher, 
and  in  most  of  the  Mennonite  communities  private  subscription 
schools  were  held,  usually  in  the  church  houses.  The  curriculum 
in  these  schools  of  course  was  meager,  consisting  of  the  three 
conventional  R's,  to  which  was  added  a  fourth — Religion.  Chris- 
topher Dock,  "the  pious  schoolmaster  of  the  Skippack,"  though 
the  best  known,  was  only  one  of  a  large  number  of  teachers 
who  kept  school  in  the  Mennonite  meeting  houses  before  the 
coming  of  the  public  schools  in  Pennsylvania. 

Among  the  more  recent  Russian  immigrants,  also  in  Kansas 
and  other  western  States,  elementary  education  became  an  im- 
portant problem  from  the  beginning.  In  the  very  first  years 
after  their  arrival  in  the  early  seventies,  while  they  were  erecting 
their  crude  dwelling  houses,  they  provided  for  a  few  months  of 
school  each  year  for  their  children  which  they  extended  to  longer 
terms  as  soon  as  their  pioneer  tasks  permitted.  These  were 
parochial  schools  established  usually  by  the  various  congrega- 
tions, in  which  Bible  and  German  played  a  conspicuous  part  in 
the  curriculum.  English  was  also  encouraged,  however,  in  order 
that  they  might  the  more  readily  accommodate  themselves  to 
their  American  environment.  Later,  when  the  public  schools  were 


300  THE  MENNONITES 

established  in  the  various  communities,  short  terms  of  from  one 
to  four  months  of  German  schools  were  held  each  year  in  addi- 
tion to  the  regular  public  school  terms  required  by  the  state  law. 
These  schools  are  still  maintained  in  many  of  the  congregations 
and  their  purpose  of  course  is  to  maintain  the  German  language 
and  to  give  the  children  instruction  in  the  Bible  and  in  church 
history.  During  the  recent  war,  however,  most  of  these  ele- 
mentary German  schools  were  discontinued  due  to  the  preju- 
dice among  the  non-Germans  against  the  German  language,  but 
in  some  cases  English  schools  were  substituted. 

In  the  field  of  higher  education  Mennonites  showed  little 
interest  until  well  toward  the  close  of  the  nineteenth  century. 
Not  that  Mennonite  youths  never  wandered  along  forbidden 
paths,  for  frequently  some  boy  more  ambitious  than  his  com- 
rades would  find  his  way  to  a  college  or  university,  from  which 
he  would  graduate  with  honors.  But  he  seldom  returned  to 
the  church  from  which  he  came,  a  fact  which  not  only  increased 
the  prejudice  universally  found  among  the  Mennonites  before 
the  middle  of  the  last  century  against  higher  learning,  but  also 
deprived  these  churches  of  the  very  leadership  needed  to  increase 
their  interest  in  the  higher  things  of  life. 

It  finally  began  to  dawn  upon  a  few  of  the  more  enlightened 
leaders  of  the  denomination  that  it  was  only  through  schools  of 
their  own  that  leaders  for  more  aggressive  work  could  be  devel- 
oped. The  first  to  realize  this  fact  was  a  small  group  from  the 
General  Conference  branch  of  the  church,  among  others — John 
H.  Oberholtzer,  Daniel  Hoch,  Daniel  Krehbiel,  and  Ephraim 
Hunsberger.  The  founding  of  a  school  for  the  training  of  min- 
isters was  discussed  in  all  of  the  early  sessions  of  the  Conference. 
In  1863  at  the  Summerfield,  Illinois,  session,  it  was  decided  to 
establish  a  school  under  the  cumbersome  title  of  "The  Christian 
Educational  Institution  of  the  Mennonite  Denomination."  The 
institution  was  finally  located  at  Wadsworth,  Ohio,  and  first 
opened  its  doors  to  students  on  January  2,  1868.  It  was  under 
the  direct  control  of  a  committee  appointed  by  the  General  Con- 
ference.   Its  relation  to  the  Conference  is  discussed  elsewhere  in 


SCHOOLS  AND  MISSIONS  301 

this  book  and  only  the  educational  policy  of  the  school  will  be 
mentioned  here. 

The  purpose  of  the  institution  was  largely  to  train  young 
men  for  Christian  work.  Religion  and  church  doctrine  were 
given  a  prominent  place  in  the  curriculum,  though  secular  sub- 
jects were  also  taught.  One  member  of  the  faculty  was  the  "The- 
ological Professor."  The  course  of  study  covered  three  years. 
Prospective  students  were  admitted  by  examination,  and  no  qual- 
ifications were  prescribed  other  than  a  good  character  and  an  age 
limit  between  eighteen  and  thirty.  The  instruction  was  to  be 
principally  in  the  German  language,  even  the  Pennsylvanians  at 
this  time  using  that  language  exclusively  in  their  worship.  The 
school  was  for  boys  only.  Early  in  its  history,  the  Pennsylvania 
churches  suggested  that  it  be  made  co-educational,  but  the  Ger- 
mans from  the  West  and  especially  the  "Theological  Professor," 
van  der  Smissen,  and  his  wife  opposed  the  suggestion  so  strongly 
that  women  were  never  admitted.  The  practical  natures  of  the 
promoters  is  shown  in  the  provision  that  each  student  was  to 
spend  three  hours  each  day  in  some  sort  of  manual  labor  "for 
the  sake  of  their  mental  and  physical  health  and  for  the  benefit 
of  the  institution."  That  this  program  was  carried  out  is  evi- 
denced by  glancing  through  a  random  list  of  assignments  made 
by  the  steward  for  one  day.  On  this  particular  day  one  person 
was  to  do  stable  work ;  two  were  to  peel  potatoes ;  two  were  to 
carry  wood  to  the  kitchen,  and  another  was  to  take  a  wagon  to 
the  blacksmith ;  still  another  was  to  fasten  the  wash  line ;  three 
were  to  work  at  carpentering  and  two  at  shoemaking;  two  per- 
sons were  to  saw  wood  and  one  to  borrow  the  saw  in  town ;  one 
was  to  go  after  the  mail,  another  to  take  meat  to  Hunsberger's 
to  be  smoked,  while  all  the  rest  were  to  cut  wood. 

Thus  it  was  hoped  that  expenses  could  be  kept  down.  But 
the  cost  of  getting  an  education  at  Wadsworth  was  not  high.  For 
the  sum  of  one  hundred  dollars  per  year  the  student  was  entitled 
to  "instruction,  board,  lodging,  washing,  fuel  and  light." 

As  already  seen,  the  school  was  forced  to  close  its  doors  in 
1878.  The  experiment  in  higher  education,  however,  was  not  a 
failure.    Many  of  the  later  leaders  of  the  church  received  their 


302  THE  MENNONITES 

initial  training  in  this  pioneer  Mennonite  institution. 

The  demand  for  a  church  school  especially  among  the  Rus- 
sian and  South  German  churches  in  the  West  did  not  die  with 
Wadsworth,  however.  Soon  after  the  closing  of  the  Ohio  insti- 
tution the  Kansas  Conference  established  a  small  "Vorbereitungs- 
schule"  in  the  Alexanderwohl  congregation  near  Newton,  Kansas, 
with  H.  H.  Ewert  as  principal  in  1882.  The  next  year  a  building 
was  erected  at  Halstead,  and  the  institution  was  maintained  under 
the  same  management  as  a  "Fortbildungschule."  Mr.  Ewert  re- 
mained in  charge  of  the  institution  until  1890  when  he  was  called 
to  head  the  pioneer  educational  work  among  the  Mennonites  of 
Manitoba.  In  1893,  in  the  meantime  the  Halstead  institution 
gave  way  to  Bethel  College  at  Newton  which  was  controlled  by  a 
voluntary  association,  but  with  Conference  sanction  and  support. 
David  Goerz,  one  of  the  pioneer  immigrants,  became  the  business 
manager  of  the  College,  and  from  this  time  until  his  death  in 
1914,  devoted  his  best  efforts  to  the  educational  interests  of  his 
people.  C.  H.  Wedel  as  president  of  the  Faculty  was  made  the 
educational  head  which  position  he  held  until  his  death  in  1910. 
Bethel  College  has  made  its  influence  felt  strongly  throughout 
the  western  churches  from  the  beginning,  furnishing  many  of 
the  church  leaders  and  missionaries.  Recently  an  attempt  was 
made  to  bring  the  school  directly  under  the  control  of  the  West- 
ern District  Conference,  but  so  far  that  has  not  been  accom- 
plished. The  last  catalogue  shows  an  attendance  of  two  hundred 
and  seventy-one,  not  including  special  music  students ;  and  a 
Faculty  of  twenty-five  during  the  past  year. 

The  Old  Mennonites  and  the  Amish-Mennonites  did  not 
awaken  to  the  need  of  a  church  school  until  within  the  last 
twenty-five  years,  and  even  then  there  was  very  little  sentiment 
in  favor  of  such  an  institution  in  the  two  branches  of  the  church 
mentioned.  Goshen  College  owes  its  existence  to  the  foresight 
of  a  small  group  of  progressive  men  who  realized  that  young  and 
efficient  leadership  could  be  secured  and  maintained  only  through 
an  educational  institution  controlled  by  the  church.  In  1895, 
this  group  of  men  formed  an  association  and  secured  funds  for  a 
building  at  Elkhart,  Indiana,  for  a  preparatory  and  Bible  school. 


pq 


SCHOOLS  AND  MISSIONS  303 

This  institution,  called  Elkhart  Institute,  was  the  outgrowth  of 
a  private  normal  and  business  school  founded  several  years 
earlier  by  Dr.  H.  A.  Mumaw  of  Elkhart.  In  1902,  the  school  was 
moved  to  Goshen  and  enlarged  into  a  college  under  the  name  of 
Goshen  College.  This  college  has  already  trained  most  of  the 
foreign  missionaries  and  many  of  the  younger  leaders  of  the 
church.  Among  a  long  list  of  pioneers  in  the  history  of  this 
pioneer  institution  among  the  Old  Mennonites  and  Amish-Men- 
nonites  must  be  mentioned  JohnS.Coffman,  pioneer  evangelist, 
who  took  a  leading  part  in  the  founding  of  the  Elkhart  school, 
and  was  the  president  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  until  his  death 
in  1899;  Jonas  S.  Hartzler,  who  as  secretary  and  treasurer  for 
over  twenty  years  bore  the  chief  financial  burden  of  both  schools 
which  often  were  exceedingly  arduous ;  and  Noah  E.  Byers  who 
first  as  principal  of  the  Elkhart  school  and  later  as  president  of 
Goshen  College  moulded  the  early  educational  policy  of  the  in- 
stitution during  the  formative  years. 

The  Bruedergemeinde  co-operated  for  a  few  years  after 
1898  with  the  Dunkard  college  at  McPherson,  Kansas,  in  their 
educational  work,  but  in  1908  they  founded  their  own  school, 
Tabor  College,  at  Hillsboro,  Kansas.  A  fire  in  1918  destroyed 
the  entire  plant,  but  a  vigorous  campaign  for  funds  secured 
$100,000  for  new  equipment.  Among  the  leaders  in  the  founding 
and  present  management  of  Tabor  College  are  H.  W.  Lohrenz, 
president,  and  D.  E.  Harder,  secretary,  a  member  of  the  Krim- 
mer  Brueder  who  are  affiliated  with  the  Bruedergemeinde  in  their 
educational  work. 

The  Mennonite  Brethren  in  Christ  also  attempted  to  found 
a  Bible  Training  school  at  Elkhart  in  1902.  A  small  group  of 
Indiana  members  secured  the  Elkhart  Institute  building  in  which 
a  school  was  held  for  several  years,  but  owing  to  opposition  and 
lack  of  support  the  work  had  to  be  abandoned. 

The  latest  and  most  ambitious  venture  in  the  Mennonite 
field  of  education  was  the  co-operative  movement  culminating  in 
the  founding  of  Bluffton  College  and  Mennonite  Seminary.  This 
institution  owes  its  origin  to  several  sources.  In  a  number  of 
issues  of  the  Mennonite  of  1912  we  find  several  articles  written 


304  THE  MENNONITES 

by  Rev.  Silas  M.  Grubb,  of  Philadelphia,  advocating  a  Mennon- 
ite  Seminary  located  preferably  at  Germantown,  Pennsylvania. 
Dr.  S.  K.  Mosiman,  president  of  Central  Mennonite  College,  in 
replying  to  these  articles  suggests  that  a  number  of  branches  co- 
operate in  establishing  such  an  institution.  President  N.  E. 
Byers,  of  Goshen  College  in  1913  in  a  letter  to  President  Mosi- 
man suggested  that  various  branches  co-operate  not  only  in  or- 
ganizing a  seminary,  but  in  establishing  a  standard  college  as 
well,  preferably  in  connection  with  one  of  the  three  colleges  al- 
ready in  existence.  Shortly  after  this  and  as  a  result  of  the  last 
suggestion  three  college  presidents,  N.  E.  Byers,  S.  K.  Mosiman 
and  J.  W.  Kliewer,  of  Bethel  College,  together  with  A.  S.  Shelly 
from  Pennsylvania  met  in  Chicago  for  a  preliminary  discussion 
concerning  the  question.  This  conference  resulted  in  the  calling  of 
a  meeting  of  unofficial  representatives  from  five  branches  of  the 
church  at  Warsaw,  Indiana,  to  discuss  further  plans  At  this 
meeting  representatives  were  present  from  the  General  Confer- 
ence Mennonites,  Old  Mennonites,  Mennonite  Brethren  in  Christ, 
Illinois  Conference,  and  Defenceless  Mennonites.  Here  it  was 
decided  to  establish  a  co-operative  institution  in  connection  with 
Central  Mennonite  College  which  had  been  founded  at  Bluffton, 
Ohio,  in  1902,  by  the  Middle  District  Conference,  offering  work 
in  three  departments — College  of  Liberal  Arts,  Theological  Sem- 
inary, and  Conservatory  of  Music.  The  following  year  the  Trus- 
tees of  Central  Mennonite  College  turned  the  college  over  to  the 
new  organization — Bluffton  College  and  Mennonite  Seminary, 
with  S.  K.  Mosiman  as  president  and  N.  E.  Byers  as  dean  of  the 
College  of  Liberal  Arts.  Another  year  later  J.  H.  Langenwalter 
became  the  dean  of  the  seminary.  John  Ropp  of  Bloomington, 
Illinois  through  liberal  financial  support  at  the  right  time  became 
an  important  factor  in  making  the  institution  possible.  The 
school  has  had  a  steady  growth  since  its  founding  in  1914.  The 
catalogue  of  1918  shows  that  during  that  year  including  the  sum- 
mer term,  three  hundred  and  forty  different  students  were  en- 
rolled in  all  departments  of  whom  one  hundred  and  fifty-three 
were  in  the  College  of  Liberal  Arts,  sixteen  in  the  Seminary,  and 
the  remainder  were  enrolled  as  special  and  music  students. 


SCHOOLS  AND  MISSIONS 


305 


In  addition  to  the  colleges  just  mentioned  a  number  of  pre- 
paratory and  Bible  schools  have  also  been  established  by  various 
branches  of  the  church,  mostly  in  the  West  among  the  Rus- 
sians. The  Gretna  Normal  school  founded  in  Manitoba  in  1891 
has  already  been  mentioned,  as  has  also  the  school  at  Rosthern 
Saskatchewan.  Among  the  Russians  a  number  of  schools  have 
been  founded  which  at  first  were  intended  in  a  way  as  advanced 
schools  in  which  German  and  religion  were  especially  stressed, 
but  which  have  since  become  rather  preparatory  schools. 

Most  of  these  are  under  the  control  of  local  churches  and 
school  associations.  The  General  Conference  Committee  on  Ed- 
ucation in  1917  reported  on  nine  of  these  schools  as  follows: 

Alexanderwohl  und  Tabor  Gemeindeschule,  Goessel,  Kan. 

Bethesda  Fortbildungschule,  Henderson,  Nebraska. 

Vorbereitungsschule,  Mt.  Lake,  Minnesota. 

Fortbildungsschule,  Beatrice,  Nebraska. 

German-English  Preparatory  school,  Gotebo,  Oklahoma. 

Hoffnungsau  Vereinschule,  Inman,  Kansas. 

Mennonitische  Lehranstalt,  Gretna,  Manitoba. 

Vorbereitungsschule,  Hillsbo.ro,  Kansas. 

Vorbereitungsschule,  Meno,  Oklahoma. 

Four  hundred  and  fifty-one  pupils  attended  these  nine  schools 
during  that  year. 


#*fS6^ 


Not  included  in  the  above  list  is  the  Fortbildungschule  at 
Moundridge,  Kansas ;  the  Training  school  at  Rosthern  Saskatch- 
ewan ;   Freeman   College,    Freeman,    South    Dakota ;    and    the 


306  THE  MENNONITES 

Zoar  Vorbereitung  und  Bibel  Schule  under  the  control  of  the 
Krimmer  Brueder  at  Inman,  Kansas. 

Among  the  Old  Mennonites  Hesston  Academy  and  Bible 
School  at  Hesston,  Kansas,  was  established  in  1909,  and  the 
Eastern  Mennonite  Bible  School  at  Harrisonburg,  Virginia,  in 
1917. 

All  of  these  schools  have  done  great  service  in  educating 
the  leadership  of  the  church  and  in  furnishing  opportunities  for 
an  education  to  many  young  men  and  women  who  otherwise 
might  never  have  had  a  chance  to  get  an  education.  A  casual 
survey  of  current  university  catalogues  shows  that  at  least  ten 
of  the  state  universities  of  the  Middle  West,  besides  a  number  of 
the  smaller  colleges  throughout  the  land  have  Mennonites  on 
their  Faculties. 

Missions  and  Evangelization 

The  awakening  of  the  entire  church  to  the  need  of  educating 
its  young  people  was  only  one  of  the  evidences  of  a  renewed 
spiritual  life.  At  the  same  time,  too,  there  developed  an  interest 
in  other  lines  of  aggressive  work  such  as  Sunday  schools,  evan- 
gelization and  missions. 

Here,  too,  the  General  Conference  took  the  lead.  It  was  for 
the  cause  of  evangelization  and  home  missions  that  Hoch,  Ober- 
holtzer  and  Daniel  Krehbiel  urged  a  closer  union  among  their 
congregations  in  the  late  fifties  of  the  last  century.  The  found- 
ing of  a  missionary  society  was  one  of  the  first  official  acts  of  the 
Conference,  but  it  was  some  time  before  any  attempt  was  made 
to  engage  in  actual  foreign  mission  work.  S.  S.  Haury,  a  grad- 
uate of  the  Wadsworth  school,  became  the  first  volunteer,  but 
the  Conference  remained  undecided  for  a  number  of  years  both 
as  to  the  location  of  a  mission  station  and  as  to  the  best  means 
of  establishing  the  work.  After  some  communication  with  the 
Amsterdam  missionary  society,  with  a  view  to  supporting  their 
work  in  the  East  Indies,  it  was  decided  to  form  an  independent 
organization,  and  to  begin  work  among  our  own  native  North 
American  Indians.  S.  S.  Haury  and  J.  B.  Baer  made  an  extended 
trip  through  Alaska  looking  for  a  desirable  field  for  Indian  mis- 


J3    « 

t3  i-T 
C  <u 

*o 

W)  B 

"2    CO 

Ul    CO 

to 

CO    ,C 

JM  u 

°   t! 
O  J3 


rf2 

W  o 

11 


SCHOOLS  AND  MISSIONS  307 

sion  work,  but  returned  undecided.  Finally  in  1880  Haury  estab- 
lished the  first  mission  station  among  the  Arrapahoe  Indians  at 
what  is  now  Darlington,  Oklahoma.  Later  on  other  stations  were 
opened  up  among  other  tribes  in  the  old  Indian  Territory,  and 
also  among  the  Hopis  in  Arizona,  and  the  Cheyennes  in  Mon- 
tana.   All  of  this  work  is  still  being  carried  on. 

The  first  mission  station  abroad  was  founded  in  India  in 
1900,  by  missionaries  Rev.  P.  A.  Penner  and  J.  F.  Kroeker  and 
their  wives.  Since  then  another  station  has  been  established  in 
China.  The  Foreign  Mission  Committee  of  the  General  Confer- 
ence reported  at  the  last  Conference  session  that  at  that  time  forty 
white  and  seventy-five  native  workers  were  engaged  in  carrying 
on  the  work  in  these  various  stations  in  America  and  abroad. 

Among  the  Old  Mennonites  and  Amish-Mennonites  the  Men- 
nonite  Publishing  Company  at  Elkhart,  Indiana,  and  the  pro- 
gressive congregation  at  that  place  served  as  the  center  of  the 
progressive  movement.  Among  the  most  influential  men  here 
were  John  F.  Funk,  founder  and  president  of  the  company,  and 
J.  S.  Coffman,  pioneer  evangelist.  During  the  late  eighties  and 
early  nineties  of  the  last  century  Coffman  aroused  the  entire 
church  through  the  Middle  West  and  Canada  through  extended 
evangelistic  tours,  the  first  of  their  kind  in  the  church.  Among 
the  aggressive  movements  following  these  campaigns  was  a 
series  of  Sunday  school  conventions,  at  first  including  all  the 
congregations  throughout  the  Middle  West,  but  later  held  in 
each  State.  Here  the  younger  men  and  women  were  first  given 
an  opportunity  to  discuss  church  problems.  One  of  these  prob- 
lems was  that  of  missions.  Among  the  earliest  advocates  of  the 
cause  was  M.  S.  Steiner  of  Bluffton,  Ohio.  In  1893  at  a  Sunday 
school  conference  at  Bluffton,  Steiner  was  appointed  as  superin- 
tendent of  a  proposed  mission  in  Chicago.  Since  then  city  mis- 
sions have  been  established  in  a  number  of  the  larger  cities. 
Steiner,  who  remained  a  leading  advocate  of  the  mission  cause 
until  his  death  in  1909,  was  also  largely  influential,  together 
with  others,  in  securing  the  appointment  of  the  first  missionaries 
to  India  in  1898— Dr.  and  Mrs.  W.  B.  Page  and  J.  A.  Ressler. 
This  mission  has  since  grown  to  large  proportions  and  is  said  to 


308  THE  MENNONITES 

be  one  of  the  best  equipped  stations  in  that  section  of  India.  In 
1917,  two  families,  Rev.  and  Mrs.  T.  K.  Hershey,  and  Rev.  and 
Mrs.  J.  W.  Shank,  were  sent  to  Argentine  in  South  America  for 
the  purpose  of  opening  a  station  in  that  country. 

The  Bruedergemeinde  early  manifested  a  deep  interest  in 
both  foreign  and  home  missions.  They  supported  their  first  native 
worker  in  a  foreign  field  in  1883.  In  1885  the  first  mission  board 
was  established.  Native  workers  were  supported  in  India,  Africa 
and  the  North  America  Indians.  The  first  foreign  station  was 
established  in  India  in  1898.  At  present  they  have  nine  mission- 
aries on  the  foreign  field  and  others  in  the  home  field.  The  con- 
tributions have  grown  from  forty  dollars  in  1883,  to  over  forty- 
seven  thousand  in  1918,  an  average  of  $7.10  for  every  member. 

The  Krimmer  Brueder,  numbering  barely  a  thousand,  sup- 
port a  mission  among  the  Negroes  in  North  Carolina.  They  also 
have  stations  in  Mexico  and  several  missionaries  in  Africa  and 
China. 

The  Mennonite  Brethren  in  Christ  support  a  large  number 
of  both  home  and  foreign  missionaries,  about  fifty  serving  abroad 
just  before  the  war,  in  Africa,  Armenia,  China,  India,  Thibet,  and 
South  America.  The  first  foreign  missionary  from  this  branch 
of  the  church  was  Eusebius  Hershey,  who  in  1887  went  to  Africa 
on  his  own  initiative  without  either  church  support  or  authority. 
Later,  however,  the  church  actively  supported  the  cause,  being 
especially  active  since  1900. 

The  Central  Illinois  Conference  of  Mennonites  and  the  De- 
fenceless Mennonites  have  formed  a  united  society  in  behalf  of 
a  station  in  Africa. 

Considering  the  fact  that  the  mission  interest  is  only  of 
recent  growth  among  the  Mennonites  what  has  thus  far  been  ac- 
complished promises  well  for  the  future.  The  support  now  given 
the  work  compares  favorably  with  that  of  some  of  the  churches 
which  have  been  engaged  in  missionary  efforts  for  a  much  longer 
period.  According  to  the  statistics  for  the  past  year  the  average 
per  capita  contributions  for  the  year  for  both  foreign  and  home 
missions  was  as  follows : 


SCHOOLS  AND  MISSIONS  309 

Defenceless    Mennonites $8.30 

Mennonite  Brethren  in  Christ   7.50 

Bruedergemeinde   7.10 

Krimmer  Brueder   6.00 

General  Conference 6.00 

Old  and  Amish-Mennonites 5.00 

Central  Illinois  Conference 4.95 

All  of  these  branches  of  the  church  have  always  responded 
liberally  to  every  call  of  the  needy  and  hungry  for  help.  Espe- 
cially liberal  was  Mennonite  support  toward  the  relief  work  in 
India  in  the  late  nineties  and  more  recently  in  Armenia  and  other 
needy  countries. 

A  number  of  them  support  their  own  Old  People's  Homes, 
Children's  Homes,  Deaconess  Hospital,  Tuberculosis  Sani- 
tarium and  other  charitable  and  philanthropic  institutions. 


310  THE  MENNONITES 


CHAPTER  XX 

LITERATURE  AND  HYMNOLOGY 

The  Mennonites  likewise  were  not  a  literary  folk.  Being 
for  the  most  part  a  rural  people  and  of  a  religious  turn  of  mind 
they  had  few  ambitions  beyond  the  desire  to  make  an  honest 
living  for  themselves  and  their  families,  and  a  passion  to  serve 
their  God  according  to  their  convictions.  The  first  comers  to 
America  brought  few  books  with  them,  perhaps  a  well  worn 
Bible,  a  copy  of  their  Confession  of  Faith  and  a  prayer  book. 
Occasionally  one  might  find  a  family  owning  an  old  Dutch  copy 
of  the  Martyr  Book,  a  family  heirloom  likely,  and  soon  unread- 
able by  the  younger  generation.  An  occasional  copy  of  the 
works  of  Menno  Simons,  too,  in  the  same  language  could  be 
found.  The  first  meager  supply  of  necessary  books  evidently 
was  soon  exhausted,  for  in  1708  the  Germantown  church  wrote 
to  Germany  for  a  supply  of  Bibles,  prayer  books  and  catechisms. 

The  first  book  printed  expressly  for  the  American  Mennon- 
ites, strange  to  say,  was  an  English  edition  of  their  Confession 
of  Faith,  issued  at  Amsterdam  in  1712,  and  reprinted  at  Phila- 
delphia in  1727.  With  one  or  two  exceptions  this  was  the  only 
English  edition  of  a  standard  Mennonite  book  for  over  a  century 
and  a  half.  The  demand  among  the  Mennonites  at  this  particular 
time,  according  to  the  preface  of  the  first  edition,  was  for  the 
purpose  of  setting  themselves  right  with  their  fellow  English 
colonists,  for  "the  greatest  part  of  the  people  doth  not  know 
what  they  (Mennonites)  confess  of  the  Word  of  God  and  by 
reason  of  that  ignorance  can't  speak  and  judge  rightly  of  their 
confession  nor  of  the  confessors  themselves,  nay  through  preju- 
dice as  a  strange  and  unheard  of  thing  do  abhor  them  so  as  not 
to  speak  well  but  oftimes  ill  of  them." 


LITERATURE  AND  HYMNOLOGY  311 

The  most  highly  prized  book  among  the  early  Mennonites, 
next  to  the  Bible,  was  the  old  Martyr  Book.  This  book,  as  its 
name  suggests,  is  a  compiled  record  of  the  sufferings  and  death 
of  a  long  list  of  marytrs  principally  of  the  non-resistant  faith 
through  all  the  ages,  and  including  the  Waldenses,  Wycliffites, 
Hussites,  Anabaptists  and  Mennonites,  as  well  as  various  relig- 
ious sects  of  the  medieval  and  ancient  times  from  the  days  of 
the  Apostles  themselves.  It  was  highly  regarded  because  it 
told  not  only  of  the  trials  and  sufferings  of  those  of  their  own 
and  kindred  faiths,  but  often  of  those  of  their  own  blood ;  for 
many  of  the  martyrs  bore  names  still  familiar  among  the  Penn- 
sylvania Mennonites  and  their  descendants.  The  book  was  a 
voluminous  work,  as  large  as  the  old  family  Bible,  and  was  first 
issued  in  its  present  form  in  the  Dutch  language  in  1660  by 
Thielman  J.  van  Bracht,  a  Dutch  Mennonite  theologian.  The 
full  title  rendered  into  English  reads,  "The  Bloody  Theatre  or 
Martyrs'  Mirror  of  the  Defenceless  Christians  who  baptized  on 
Confession  of  Faith  and  who  suffered  and  died  for  the  Testimony 
of  Jesus  their  Savior  from  the  time  of  Christ  to  the  Year  1660." 

There  seemed  little  demand  among  the  first  generation  of 
pioneers  for  more  than  the  occasional  copies  of  the  book  which 
the  first  settlers  brought  with  them.  But  by  the  middle  of  the 
century  the  dangers  which  threatened  the  doctrine  of  non-resist- 
ance among  their  young  people  because  of  the  colonial  wars 
created  a  demand  for  their  book  of  martyrs,  written  in  a  language 
that  could  be  read  by  all.  After  attempting  in  vain  to  have  the 
work  published  in  Germany,  the  Pennsylvania  churches  con- 
tracted with  the  monks  of  the  Ephrata  cloister  for  an  edition  of 
thirteen  hundred  copies.  The  undertaking  was  an  arduous  one 
and  it  took  three  years  to  finish  it.  The  Ephrata  Brethren  were 
obliged  to  manufacture  their  own  paper,  make  the  translation 
from  the  Dutch  into  the  German,  and  do  all  the  printing  and  bind- 
ing. The  book  was  issued  in  1748,  a  large  volume  of  over  four- 
teen hundred  pages,  the  most  ambitious  publication  undertaking 
in  Pennsylvania  up  to  that  time.  The  Martyrs  Mirror  has  gone 
through  a  number  of  editions  since  then,  the  last  English  edi- 
tion coming  from  the  press  at  Elkhart,  Indiana,  in  1887,  and 


312 


THE  MENMONITES 


a  German  edition  printed  at  Scottdale,  Pennsylvania,  as  re- 
cently as  1916. 

The  various  works  of  Menno  Simons  were  also  familiar, 
but  these  were  printed  only  in  fragments.  Among  Menno's 
treatises  the  most  important  is  the  "Foundation  Book,"  which 
contains  the  most  complete  statement  of  his  views.  This  was 
printed  as  a  pamphlet  at  Lancaster  in  1794  and  was  the  first  of 
his  works  to  appear  in  an  American  edition.  Other  treatises 
were  published  through  the  nineteenth  century,  but  the  first 
complete  edition  was  issued  in  German  at  Elkhart  in  1876  and 
in  English  on  the  same  press  in  1871. 

Deitrich  Philip,  a  co-laborer  of  Menno's,  also  wrote  several 
books,  the  best  known  of  which  was  "Enchiridion"  or  Hand- 
book, a  treatise  on  the  characteristic  Anabaptist  doctrines,  first 
published  at  Haarlem  in  1578.  The  first  American  edition  was 
published  at  Lancaster  in  1811.  Two  later  German  editions 
appeared,  and  in  1910  it  was  translated  into  English  by  A.  B. 
Kolb  and  published  at  Elkhart.  It  is  still  occasionally  read 
among  the  Old  Order  Amish  because  the  author  stresses  the 
strict  observance  of  the  Avoidance  practise.  Philip  was  also 
one  of  the  few  old  authors  to  write  at  length  on  the  ordinance 
of  feet-washing. 

Among  other  books  found  occasionally  on  the  bookshelves 
of  the  Mennonite  pioneers  were  several  books  of  sermons  written 
for  the  most  part  by  Dutch  and  North  German  ministers  of  the 
seventeenth  and  early  eighteenth  centuries.  Among  these  com- 
pilations were  those  of  Jacob  Denner  (1659-1746),  for  many 
years  a  minister  at  Altona,  and  those  written  by  Johan  Deknatel, 
originally  printed  in  Dutch,  but  later  in  1757  in  German.  The 
latter  were  never  issued  in  America,  but  Denner's  collection  was 
printed  in  1792  in  Germany  at  the  expense  of  two  Pennsylvanians 
for  the  Pennsylvania  Mennonites.  The  book  was  a  large  volume 
of  over  1,500  pages  and  the  edition  consisted  of  five  hundred 
copies.  In  1830  a  book  of  sermons  by  Wilhelm  Wyngantz, 
also  a  minister  at  Altona,  in  1654,  was  translated  from  the  Dutch 
by  David  Zug,  an  Amishman,  of  Belleville,  Pennsylvania,  and 
published  at  Lancaster. 


John  F.  Funk,  Bishop  of  Old  Mennonite  Church.  Founder  of  Herald 
of  Truth,  1864,  and  Mennonite  Publishing  Company,  Elkhart,  Ind. 


LITERATURE  AND  HYMNOLOGY  313 

Among  other  old  books  popular  in  Mennonite  homes  for 
years,  all  in  German,  were  "Golden  Apples  in  Silver  Shells," 
printed  at  Ephrata  in  1745  at  the  request  of  the  Mennonite 
church ;  "Spiritual  Flower  Garden  of  the  Inner  Soul,"  published 
for  the  eighth  time  in  America  in  1800;  and  "The  Wandering 
Soul,"  written  by  a  Mennonite  minister  at  Alkmaar,  J.  P.  Scha- 
balie,  in  the  seventeenth  century,  printed  many  times  in  the 
Dutch,  translated  into  the  German  and  recently  published  for  the 
sixteenth  time  at  Philadelphia. 

The  first  book  written  by  an  American  author  was  "A  Mirror 
of  Baptism  with  Spirit,  Water  and  Blood,"  published  in  1744 
on  the  Christopher  Sauer  press  and  in  four  later  editions.  The 
author,  Bishop  Heinrich  Funck,  migrated  to  America  in  1717 
and  became  the  founder  of  a  long  line  of  Funks,  many  of  them 
prominent  publishers,  including  J.  F.  Funk,  founder  of  the 
Mennonite  Publishing  Company  of  Elkhart ;  Joseph  Funk,  pio- 
neer Virginia  printer,  and  Isaac  Funk,  member  of  the  Funk- 
Waghall  firm.  Bishop  Funk  also  wrote  a  more  extended  work, 
"Restitution,"  a  treatise  on  a  number  of  the  principal  points  of 
the  Law,  their  fulfillment  and  significance.  The  book  was  pub- 
lished by  his  children  after  his  death,  was  reprinted  at  Lancas- 
ter in  1862,  and  was  put  through  an  English  edition  at  Elkhart 
as  late  as  1915.  This  book  has  the  distinction  of  being  the  only 
American  Mennonite  work  to  be  published  abroad,  being  issued 
at  Biel,  Switzerland,  in  1844. 

Christian  Funk,  son  of  the  above,  and  founder  of  the  first 
division  in  the  American  church,  published  at  Germantown  in 
1785  a  justification  of  his  activities,  which  in  1805  appeared  in 
English  as  "A  Mirror  for  all  Mankind." 

Another  book  of  the  eighteenth  century  worthy  of  mention 
was  Christopher  Dock's  "Schul  Ordnung,"  published  after  his 
death  in  1770  by  Christopher  Sauer  Jr.  This  small  pamphlet 
describes  Dock's  method  of  conducting  a  successful  country 
school — how  he  receives  his  children ;  how  he  teaches  them  their 
A,  B,  C's;  how  he  maintains  discipline;  how  he  secures  the  love 
of  the  children,  etc.  Being  the  earliest  American  treatise  on 
record  on  the  subject  of  school  teaching,  the  work  has  received 


314  THE  MENNONITES 

more  attention  from  writers  on  the  history  of  education  than  it 
otherwise  would  merit.  Dock  also  wrote  a  number  of  poems  and 
"A  Hundred  Rules  of  Conduct  for  Children."  Some  of  these  rules 
are  interesting,  including  this  one  on  table  manners :  "Rule  34. 
The  bones,  or  what  remains  over,  do  not  throw  under  the  table, 
do  not  put  them  under  the  tablecloth,  but  let  them  lie  on  the 
edge  of  the  plate." 

During  the  early  and  middle  nineteenth  century  the  books 
of  Mennonite  authorship  were  for  the  most  part  controversial 
in  character  and  were  written  by  the  founders  of  various  church 
divisions  in  defence  of  their  views  and  activities.  Among  these 
men  were  John  Herr,  John  H.  Oberholtzer  (1809-1895),  Jacob 
Stauffer,  and  John  Holdeman  (1832-1900). 

The  most  valuable  literary  work  done  in  the  last  hundred 
years  has  been  that  in  the  field  of  church  history.  The  earliest 
work  in  this  field  was  Benjamin  Eby's  "Short  History  of  the 
Mennonites,"  which  appeared  first  in  1841  in  Berlin,  Canada, 
and  whose  chief  merit  is  that  it  appeared  first.  Daniel  Musser's 
"History  of  the  Reformed  Mennonite  Church"  was  published 
at  Lancaster  in  1873.  A  "Brief  History  of  the  Mennonites,"  by 
Professor  C.  H.  Wedel  of  Bethel  College,  in  four  volumes  (1901- 
1904),  is  the  best  and  most  readable  work  on  the  subject  that 
has  yet  appeared,  although  too  much  space  is  devoted  to  the  pre- 
Mennonite  period  on  the  untenable  theory  that  Mennonite  history 
must  be  traced  back  to  Apostolic  days  C.  H.  A.  van  der  Smissen, 
pastor  at  Summerfield  at  the  time,  published  in  1895  an  excellent 
short  treatise  on  the  history  and  the  doctrines  of  the  Mennonites, 
which  also  included  his  father's  translation  of  the  Cornells  Ris 
Confession  of  Faith.  H.  P.  Krehbiel's  exhaustive  "History  of 
the  General  Conference,"  published  in  1898,  will  undoubtedly 
remain  the  authoritative  work  on  the  early  history  of  that  move- 
ment. Hartzler  and  Kauffman's  "Mennonite  Church  History" 
was  printed  at  Scottdale  in  1905.  The  same  press  published  also 
in  1916  "Menno  Simons,  His  Life,  Labors  and  Teachings,"  by 
John  Horsch,  which  next  to  the  comprehensive  book  by  Vos, 
the  Dutch  Mennonite  theologian,  is  the  most  important  recent 
study  of  this  early  leader  of  the  church.    In  1917  appeared  Dean 


LITERATURE  AND  HYMNOLOGY  315 

J.  H.  Langenwalter's  "Christ's  Headship  of  the  Church  as  Taught 
by  Those  Anabaptists  Who  Later  Were  Called  Mennonites." 

All  of  these  books  with  a  few  exceptions  among  the  recent 
works  appeared  in  the  German  language. 

In  any  discussion  of  the  reading  matter  to  which  our  Men- 
nonite  forefathers  had  access  and  which  they  perused  for  pleas- 
ure or  profit  we  must  by  no  means  neglect  to  mention  Suers' 
Almanac,  issued  at  Germantown  during  the  eighteenth  century, 
and  Baer's  Almanac  from  Lancaster,  printed  throughout  the 
nineteenth  century  and  still  found  for  sale  in  the  bookstores  of 
every  Pennsylvania  German  community.  Important,  too,  as 
sources  of  valuable  historical  information  are  the  various 
Year  Books  published  by  the  presses  of  the  Old  Mennonites  and 
the  General  Conference  Mennonites. 

In  the  field  of  Mennonite  hymnology  the  old  Ausbund  easily 
holds  the  center  of  interest.  The  Ausbund,  which  is  undoubtedly 
the  oldest  hymnbook  still  in  use  anywhere  in  America,  consists 
of  a  collection  of  one  hundred  and  forty  hymns  from  various 
sources,  including  a  nucleus  of  fifty-one  originally  composed 
for  the  most  part  by  a  group  of  Swiss  Mennonite  captives  driven 
out  of  Austria  and  imprisoned  in  the  castle  of  Passau  on  the 
Bavarian  frontier  between  1535  and  1537.  This  collection  was 
first  printed  about  1571,  since  which  time  twelve  editions  ap- 
peared in  South  Germany  and  Switzerland,  the  last  issue  being 
printed  at  Basel  in  1838.  This  book  became  the  adopted  hymnal 
of  the  Swiss  and  South  German  Mennonites  for  several  hundred 
years.  When  the  first  Palatines  came  to  Pennsylvania  they 
brought  this  book  with  them,  as  did  also  the  Swiss  Mennonites 
and  the  Alsatian  Amish  in  Ohio  and  Illinois  in  the  early  nine- 
teenth century.  The  first  American  edition  was  printed  at  Ger- 
mantown in  1742.  It  has  appeared  in  eleven  American  editions 
since,  the  last  appearing  at  Elkhart  in  1913. 

This  old  book  was  never  revised,  merely  reprinted,  thus 
perpetuating  its  original  quaint  colloquial  Swiss-German.  Many 
of  the  hymns  are  detailed  narratives  by  the  trials  and  the  suffer- 
ings of  the  early  martyrs ;  others  consist  of  lengthy  discourses 
upon  some  points  of  doctrines.     Few  of  them  possess  anything 


316  THE  MENNONITES 

of  a  lyrical  or  subjective  quality.  Most  of  them  are  long,  several 
of  them  consisting  of  some  scores  of  stanzas.  They  were  printed 
without  music.  The  melodies  to  which  they  were  sung  were 
transmitted  from  one  generation  to  another  and  in  the  process 
tunes  were  developed  that  defied  both  rhythm  and  time.  To  sing 
one  song  often  required  the  better  part  of  an  hour.  The  opening 
verse  of  the  Haslibacher  hymn,  often  sung  among  the  Old  Order 
Amish,  among  whom  the  book  is  still  in  use,  is  typical  of  many 
of  the  songs : 

"Was  wend  wir  aber  heben  an 
Zu  singen  von  ein'm  alten  Mann 

Der  war  von  Haslibach 

Haslibacher  ward  er  genannt 

Aus  der  Kilchoeri  Sumiswald." 
Another  collection  of  hymns  almost  equally  as  venerable 
as  those  of  the  Ausbund  is  the  collection  used  in  worship  by  the 
Huterites,  many  of  which  are  also  martyr  stories  first  told  in  the 
sixteenth  century.  The  collection  was  preserved  in  manu- 
scripts in  the  archives  of  the  various  Bruderhofs  and  were  not 
put  in  print  until  1916,  when  the  Dakota  Huterites  had  them 
published  at  Scottdale,  Pennsylvania. 

Before  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century  the  Pennsylvania 
Mennonites,  but  not  the  Amish,  had  discarded  the  Ausbund, 
whose  place  was  taken  by  different  psalm  and  hymnbooks.  In 
order  to  secure  a  book  for  common  use  the  Franconia  Mennon- 
ites had  published  at  Germantown  a  new  hymnal,  "Die  Kleine 
Geistliche  Harfe,"  in  1803,  which  went  through  a  number  of  edi- 
tions in  the  course  of  the  century,  being  printed  for  the  sixth 
time  at  Lancaster  in  1870.  About  the  same  time,  too,  another 
book  was  published  at  Lancaster  in  1804  called  the  "Unpar- 
theisches  Gesangbuch,"  which  was  printed  for  the  sixth  time 
in  1841,  at  which  time  it  was  stereotyped  and  all  later  reprints 
were  of  the  sixth  edition.  The  book  is  still  in  use  in  places.  It 
contained  many  of  the  hymns  of  the  old  Ausbund.  In  1871  the 
Mennonite  Publishing  Company  at  Elkhart,  Indiana,  published 
the  "Allgemeine  Lieder  Sammlung"  for  the  Old  Mennonites 
and  Amish  which  went  through  a  second  edition  with  an  Eng- 


LITERATURE  AMD  HYMNOLOGY  317 

Hsh  appendix  in  1877.  "Eine  Unpartheische  Lieder  Sammlung" 
came  from  the  Baer  press  at  Lancaster  in  1870.  The  various 
immigrant  groups  during  the  past  century  brought  with  them 
their  own  hymnals,  but  such  as  later  joined  the  General  Con- 
ference movement  adopted  the  book  "Gesangbuch  zum  Gottes- 
dienstlichen  und  Hauslichen  Gebrauch,"  which  the  Conference 
published  in  1873. 

The  first  English  hymnal  was  printed  by  the  Virginia  Men- 
nonites  in  1847  under  the  title  of  "A  Selection  of  Psalms,  Hymns 
and  Spiritual  Songs."  The  book  was  reprinted  five  times  on 
the  handpress  of  Joseph  Funk  at  Singer's  Glen,  and  the  copy- 
right was  sold  later  to  the  Mennonite  Publishing  Company, 
where  the  book  was  published  in  several  later  editions. 

All  these  hymnals  were  without  notes.  For  the  purpose  of 
furnishing  new  melodies  for  the  old  hymns  Joseph  Funk  in  1832 
published  a  "notebook,"  the  "Harmonia  Sacra,"  which  in  course 
of  time  passed  through  seventeen  editions  and  in  1875  was  suc- 
ceeded by  the  "Philharmonia,"  issued  at  Elkhart  to  serve  the 
same  purpose.  The  General  Conference  in  1890  published  a 
book  with  words  and  notes  called  "Gesangbuch  mit  Noten," 
and  the  Elkhart  house  a  little  later  published  a  similar  work 
for  the  Old  Mennonites.  Since  then  several  new  song  books 
have  been  issued. 

The  Mennonites  had  no  early  printing  presses.  Their  first 
books  were  printed  by  a  number  of  well  known  printing  firms 
of  the  early  days,  notably  the  Christopher  Sauer  press,  that  of 
the  Ephrata  Brethren,  and  later  the  establishment  of  Johan  Baer. 
The  first  Mennonite  to  venture  into  the  printing  and  publishing 
business  was  Henry  Bertolet  of  Skippack,  who  in  1836  pub- 
lished a  paper  called  "Religioeser  Botschafter."  The  under- 
taking aroused  so  much  opposition,  however,  among  his  breth- 
ren that  he  was  obliged  to  suspend  the  publication  after  the 
first  issue.  Joseph  Funk  in  1847  set  up  at  a  little  hamlet  in 
Virginia  called  Singers  Glen  a  small  hand  press  on  which  for 
many  years  he  published  a  number  of  song  books  and  other 
productions.  In  1852  John  H.  Oberholtzer  erected  a  small  press 
at  Milford  Square,  Pennsylvania,  upon  which  was  printed  the 


318 


THE  MENNONITES 


"Religioeser  Botschafter,"  named  after  Bertolet's  paper,  un- 
doubtedly, which  was  later  taken  over  by  a  printing  company, 
and  after  undergoing  several  changes  in  name  was  finally  united 
in  1881  with  "Zur  Heimat,"  a  paper  published  by  David  Goerz 
since  1875,  for  the  Russian  immigrants.  The  new  publication 
was  called  "Christlicher  Bundesbote,"  and  is  now  published  by 
the  General  Conference  Publication  Committee.  The  "Mennon- 
ite,"  the  English  organ  of  the  General  Conference,  was  founded 
by  the  Eastern  District  Conference  in  1885,  and  taken  over  by 
the  General  Conference  in  1901.  The  most  ambitious  of  the 
private  Mennonite  printing  establishments  was  that  founded 
by  John  F.  Funk  and  his  brother  in  Chicago  in  1864,  but  soon 
after  removed  to  Elkhart,  Indiana,  under  the  name  of  Mennonite 
Publishing  Company.  This  firm  for  many  years  published  the 
Herald  of  Truth  in  both  the  English  and  German  editions, 
which  was  read  widely  by  various  branches  of  the  denomination, 
and  also  a  number  of  the  old  standard  Mennonite  books  that 
otherwise  would  not  have  been  accessible  to  the  average  reader. 
These  enterprises  were  all  under  private  control.  The  first 
plant  controlled  by  the  church  was  the  Mennonite  Book  Con- 
cern, founded  by  the  General  Conference  at  Berne,  Indiana,  in 
1884.  The  Mennonite  Publishing  House  at  Scottdale,  Pennsyl- 
vania, owned  by  the  Old  Mennonite  and  Amish-Mennonite  Con- 
ferences, was  founded  in  1908  by  securing  the  rights  of  both 
the  Old  Mennonite  Publishing  Company  of  Elkhart  and  the 
Gospel  Witness  Company,  which  had  been  established  by  private 
parties  a  few  years  before  and  had  published  the  Gospel  Wit- 
ness. This  paper  was  now  united  with  the  former  Herald  of 
Truth  into  the  Gospel  Herald.  The  Mennonite  Publishing  House 
now  also  publishes  the  "Rundschau,"  a  paper  read  widely  by 
the  Russians,  and  the  "Christian  Monitor,"  a  paper  for  young 
people.  The  Mennonite  Brethren  in  Christ  appointed  a  publica- 
tion committee  in  1879  to  secure  a  partial  equipment  to  print  the 
"Gospel  Banner."  The  enterprise  did  not  succeed  and  the  paper 
was  issued  by  private  plants,  but  under  Conference  editorship 
until  1916,  when  the  General  Conference  purchased  the  Bethel 
Publishing  Company,  established   in   1903  by  J.  A.   Huffman. 


Goshen   College. 


Mennonite  Publishing  House,  Scottdale,  Penn. 


LITERATURE  AND  HYMNOLOGY  319 

This  church  now  owns  its  own  publishing  house  and  publishes 
its  own  periodicals  and  church  literature.  The  Bruedergemeinde 
also  owns  its  own  plant  at  Hillsboro,  Kansas,  which  publishes 
the  official  organ  of  the  church,  the  "Zionsbote."  The  Krimmer 
Brueder  publish  the  "Wahrheitsfreund"  on  their  own  press  in 
Chicago.  A  number  of  congregations  of  the  Eastern  and  Middle 
Districts  of  the  General  Conference  publish  local  papers  which 
frequently  contain  articles  of  more  than  local  interest,  as  do  also 
the  different  Mennonite  Colleges. 

Several  other  branches  of  the  church  issue  periodicals,  but 
do  not  own  their  own  publishing  plants.  The  "Christian  Evan- 
gel," organ  of  the  Central  Illinois  Conference,  was  founded  in 
1910;  "Zion's  Call,"  representing  the  Defenceless  Mennonites, 
appeared  first  in  1898;  the  "Heilsbote,"  a  German  paper,  is  no 
longer  published ;  "Der  Mitarbeiter,"  published  at  Gretna,  Man- 
itoba, since  1905,  is  the  official  organ  of  the  various  church  enter- 
prises of  the  Manitoba  Mennonites;  "Herold  der  Wahrheit" 
represents  the  Old  Order  Amish.  There  are  several  other  pub- 
lications representing  small  branches  and  special  enterprises. 


320  THE  MENNONITES 


CHAPTER  XXI 

DOCTRINE  AND  PRACTISE 

Mennonitism  is  the  essence  of  individualism,  and  conse- 
quently Mennonites  as  a  body  were  never  committed  to  any  one 
particular  Confession  of  Faith.  Their  religious  beliefs  are  to 
be  gathered  from  different  sources — writings  of  early  church 
leaders,  public  debates  with  state  church  theologians,  testimonies 
of  martyrs,  decisions  of  conferences,  and  a  variety  of  Confessions 
of  Faith.  Among  the  leaders  only-  Menno  Simons  and  Dirck 
Philip  wrote  at  length  on  questions  of  church  doctrine;  the 
debates  include  such  general  discussions  as  the  Frankenthal  Dis- 
putation of  1571.  The  Wismar  rules  of  1554,  the  Strasburg  Con- 
ference called  to  discuss  these  rules  in  1557,  and  a  later  famous 
meeting  at  the  same  place  in  1568,  are  typical  of  the  conferences. 
Of  confessions  there  were  a  variety  drawn  up  by  different  parties 
and  factions,  frequently  forming  a  basis  of  co-operation  between 
opposing  groups. 

The  earliest  known  Anabaptist  statement  of  principles  is  the 
brief  summary  of  seven  articles  drawn  up  at  Schleitheim  in  South 
Germany  in  1527,  supposedly  formulated  by  Michael  Sattler. 
During  the  remainder  of  the  sixteenth  century,  which  was  one  of 
severe  persecution,  few  confessions  were  formulated,  but  the 
testimonies  of  hundreds  of  men  and  women  who  suffered  at  the 
stake  leave  no  doubt  as  to  the  fundamental  religious  beliefs  for 
which  they  laid  down  their  lives. 

The  first  third  of  the  seventeenth  century  was  a  period  of 
attempted  reconciliation  among  various  Mennonite  parties  in 
Holland.  It  was  during  this  time  that  most  of  the  Confessions 
of  Faith,  most  of  which  were  composed  to  serve  as  a  basis  of 
union,  were  written.  One  of  the  earliest  of  these  was  the  Concept 
of  Cologne  drawn  up  in  1591,  at  Cologne  and  signed  by  represent- 


DOCTRINE  AND  PRACTISE  321 

atives  of  the  Frisian,  Flemish  and  High  German  churches  along 
the  Rhine.  A  little  later,  about  1600,  according  to  van  Bracht 
appeared  the  long  Confession  of  thirty-three  articles  said  to  have 
been  written  by  Pieter  Janz  Twisck  and  copied  in  the  Martyrs 
Mirror.  This  Confession  went  through  an  American  edition, 
being  published  at  Winchester,  Virginia,  by  Elder  Peter  Burk- 
holder.  The  Hans  de  Ries  Confession  written  as  early  as  1581 
and  officially  adopted  some  thirty  years  later  represented  the 
liberal  Waterlander  churches  in  Holland  and  evidently  was  writ- 
ten to  prove  that  the  Mennonites  were  not  Socinians.  In  1627, 
the  Olive  Branch  articles  signed  by  Tobias  Govertz  and  three 
other  Dutch  ministers  attempted  to  bring  about  a  union  between 
the  Dutch  Flemish  and  Frisian  churches.  Although  not  imme- 
diately successful  in  attaining  its  object  it  later  came  to  have  a 
wide  circulation.  The  Jan  Cents  Confession  which  also  appears 
in  the  Martyrs  Mirror  served  as  a  common  basis  of  faith  for  a 
number  of  united  Frisian  and  upper  German  congregations.  One 
of  the  best  known  of  the  Confessions  was  the  Dordrecht  state- 
ment of  1632,  signed  by  fifty-one  representatives  from  seventeen 
Dutch  congregations  in  Holland  and  Northwestern  Germany 
in  behalf  of  the  Frisian  and  upper  German  parties.  This  has 
been  perhaps  the  most  widely  used  of  all  the  Confessions.  In 
1660,  it  was  adopted  by  the  churches  in  Alsace  and  the  Palatinate. 
It  was  imported  early  into  Pennsylvania,  and  became  the  ac- 
cepted statement  of  faith  for  the  early  American  church.  It 
teaches  conservative  doctrines  and  advocates  a  strict  discipline, 
and  is  still  the  recognized  Confession  for  the  Old  Mennonites, 
Amish,  and  the  Central  Illinois  Conference  of  Mennonites. 

More  than  one  hundred  years  later,  in  1766,  appeared  the 
liberal  Cornelis  Ris  Confession  first  written  to  unite  the  Frisian 
and  liberal  Waterlander  congregations  in  Hoorn,  Holland.  Later, 
in  1773,  it  was  adopted  at  Amsterdam  by  a  number  of  congrega- 
tions of  Holland  which  met  in  conference  in  the  church  called 
"The  Sun."  It  was  also  accepted  some  time  later  by  some 
of  the  Prussian  congregations,  but  was  given  little  recognition  in 
South  Germany.  In  1849,  C.  J.  van  der  Smissen,  pastor  of  the 
Friedrichstadt  church,  made  a  new  translation  into  the  German, 

11 


322  THE  MENNONITES 

and  in  1902  the  General  Conference  of  Mennonites  of  North 
America  authorized  an  English  translation.  This  Confession  be- 
ing originally  a  compromise  between  two  liberal  groups  is  one  of 
the  more  liberal  statements  of  Mennonite  faith. 

Among  other  Confessions  of  Faith  which  had  more  or  less 
of  a  vogue  among  certain  groups  of  congregations  during  the 
seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries  were  the  Flemish  Confes- 
sion written  by  George  Hansen,  minister  at  Danzig  in  1678  for 
the  Mennonites  called  the  "Clarichen  ;"  the  Gerhard  Roosen  state- 
ment of  1702  in  use  for  many  years  at  Altona  and  also  in  South 
Germany ;  the  Old  Flemish  Confession  of  1755 ;  and  the  for- 
mulary authorized  by  the  South  Germans  at  Ibersheim  in  1803. 
Among  recent  revisions  and  new  Confessions  are  the  1895 
revision  of  the  West  Prussian  Conference,  and  thel896  revision 
for  the  Russian  churches.  The  Bruedergemeinde  both  in  Russia 
and  America  use  the  Confession  first  adopted  in  Russian  in  1873. 
The  Mennonite  Brethren  in  Christ  have  issued  their  own  con- 
fessions and  Disciplines  since  1880.  The  Defenceless  Mennonites 
adopted  a  revised  edition  of  their  Confession  in  1917.  The 
Huterites  still  follow  the  principles  laid  down  in  Peter  Riede- 
man's  "Rechenschaft"  in  1543.  The  General  Conference  repre- 
senting the  Old  Mennonites  and  the  Amish-Mennonites  published 
at  Scottdale,  Pennsylvania,  in  1914  an  exhaustive  treatise  written 
by  various  leaders  of  the  church,  of  all  the  doctrines  and  prac- 
tises as  taught  by  that  wing  of  the  denomination. 

Mennonite  theology  has  ;never  been  fundamentally  philoso- 
phical, but  decidedly  Biblical.  Leaders  of  Mennonite  thought 
never  concerned  themselves  much  with  fine  spun  theories  and 
philosophical  distinctions  made  by  the  theologians  of  the  day; 
but  they  expressed  themselves  in  speech  and  writing  on  all  ques- 
tions of  church  doctrine  in  terms  of  Biblical  phraseology.  Their 
statements,  well  buttressed  with  Scriptural  references,  were  in- 
clined toward  a  literal  interpretation  of  the  Bible.  And  then,  too, 
correct  living  seemed  to  appeal  to  them  more  strongly  than  a 
discussion  of  obscure  points  of  doctrine  which  largely,  because 
of  their  early  training,  they  could  not  understand  anyway.  For 
this  reason  one  finds  little  reference  in  the#&  Confessions  to  the 


DOCTRINE  AND  PRACTISE  323 

fundamental  philosophical  questions  which  were  puzzling  the 
heads  of  the  churchmen  of  the  times.  Only  two  of  the  Confes- 
sions— those  of  Peter  Janz  Twisck  and  Cornelis  Ris,  contain  any 
mention  of  the  doctrine  of  the  Freedom  of  the  Will.  On  the 
question  of  Calvinism,  Mennonites  can  hardly  be  classified.  In 
the  seventeenth  century,  however,  they  were  regarded  as  Armin- 
ians,  and  so  far  as  their  position  on  the  Free  Will  controversy 
was  concerned  they  were  perhaps  properly  classified,  although 
they  did  not  accept  the  entire  system  of  reasoning  of  the  Armin- 
ians.  Cornelis  Ris  approached  the  Calvinistic  position  on  many 
points,  but  stopped  short  of  the  goal  of  the  Calvinistic  system, 
advocating  a  modified  Calvinism.  "God  decreed"  he  says,  "to 
impart  His  love,  His  grace,  and  His  gifts  in  larger  measure  to 
some  than  to  others  and  this  according  to  His  own  will  and  pleas- 
ure— but  His  loving  kindness  is  so  great  and  so  far  reaching  and 
so  all  inclusive  that  no  one  is  excluded  therefrom  without  a  just 
cause."  Ris  evidently  is  not  quite  sure  of  himself  on  this  point 
and  finds  consolation  in  the  thought  that  anyway  in  "the  wisdom 
and  ways  of  God,  especially  in  this  matter  there  are  depths  which 
will  ever  be  beyond  our  ability  to  fathom  in  this  life."  A  num- 
ber of  recent  Confessions  emphasizing  such  doctrines  as  Sancti- 
fication,  Holiness,  etc.,  are  undoubtedly  tending  toward  a  more 
rigid  Calvinism. 

On  the  general  church  doctrines  such  as  Creation,  Fall  of 
Man,  Trinity,  Christ,  His  nature  and  function,  the  Scheme  of 
Salvation,  Resurrection  and  the  Future  Life,  Menaonites-held  the 
usual  orthodox  beliefs  of  the  Protestant  churches.  But  on  a  num- 
ber of  points  their  beliefs  were  sufficiently  individualistic  to  merit 
extended  mention. 

Baptism  was  to  them  merely  an  initiatory  ceremony  signi- 
fying membership  in  the  body  of  believers  organized  as  a  church. 
The  church  is  a  voluntary  association  composed  of  those  pos- 
sessed of  a  regenerated  heart.  Infant  baptism  consequently,  the 
sign  of  compulsory  initiation  into  a  universal,  unregenerated 
state  church  they  condemned.  It  was  the  insistence  upon  adult 
or  believers  baptism  that  first  gave  Mennonites  the  name  of 
Anabaptists.    As  to  the  form  of  baptism  the  early  Mennonites 


324  THE  MENNONITES 

generally  practised  sprinkling,  although  several  divisions  oc- 
curred in  Holland  and  northern  Germany  during  the  sixteenth 
century  because  of  this  question,  resulting  in  a  "dompelaar"  or 
immersionist  wing  of  the  church.  The  Confessions  are  all  silent 
on  the  question  of  the  form  except  that  of  Cornelis  Ris,  which 
evidently  aimed  to  conciliate  the  immersionists  with  the  state- 
ment that  the  act  is  "an  immersing  of  the  whole  body  in  the 
water,  or  a  liberal  sprinkling  with  water,  which  latter  mode  we 
in  these  northern  latitudes  consider  more  generally  appropriate, 
since  the  same  blessings  are  signified  by  it."  At  present  in  Amer- 
ica the  Mennonite  Brethren  in  Christ  and  the  Bruedergemeinde 
and  the  Krimmer  Brueder  practice  immersion.  With  the  De- 
fenceless Mennonites  the  form  is  optional  with  the  candidate. 

The  Lord's  Supper  was  regarded  as  merely  a  memorial  in 
commemoration  of  the  suffering  and  death  of  the  Savior.  The 
bread  and  wine  contains  neither  the  real  nor  spiritual  presence 
of  Christ  as  the  state  churches  teach. 

The  practise  of  Feet-washing  was  inaugurated  by  the  Ana- 
baptists and  was  based  on  a  literal  interpretation  of  the  example 
of  Jesus  at  the  last  Supper.  The  practise  was  common  among  a 
number  of  the  Mennonite  churches  in  the  sixteenth  and  seven- 
teenth centuries,  but  not  universal.  The  significance  of  the  prac- 
tice, which  was  regarded  as  a  binding  ordinance  by  such  churches 
as  kept  it,  is  two-fold  according  to  the  Confessions  which  advo- 
cate it — "an  act  of  humiliation  and  a  sign  of  the  true  washing  of 
the  soul  in  the  blood  of  Christ." 

As  to  form,  there  were  two  methods  of  administering  the 
practise.  Some  following  the  literal  example  of  Jesus  made  it  a 
part  of  the  communion  service ;  others  observed  it  in  its  earlier 
Old  Testament  form  and  washed  the  feet  of  distant  ministering 
brethren  when  making  visits.  The  practise  was  not  observed 
among  the  Dutch  Waterlanders,  but  was  common  among  the  Old 
Flemish  and  the  strict  Frisians,  and  was  introduced  by  the  latter 
wherever  they  migrated  into  northern  Germany  and  later  into 
Russia.  In  South  Germany  and  Switzerland  it  was  not  common 
in  the  seventeenth  century,  but  was  introduced  by  the  Amish  in 
Switzerland  and  the  Palantinate  near  the  close  of  the  century. 


DANIEL  BRENNEMAN 
(1834-1919) 


JOSEPH  STUCKEY 
(1825-1902) 


JOHN  S.  COFFMAN 
(1848-1899) 


DOCTRINE  AND  PRACTISE  325 

Among  the  early  writers  Dirck  Philip  was  the  most  consist- 
ent advocate  of  the  custom.  Menno  Simons  gives  it  only  a  pass- 
ing reference  in  his  written  works,  and  even  then  he  seems  to 
refer  rather  to  the  custom  of  washing  the  feet  of  visiting  min- 
isters than  to  a  communion  ordinance.  The  various  Confessions 
of  Faith  differ  widely  in  their  treatment  of  the  subject.  None 
specify  that  the  practise  is  to  be  observed  as  an  ordinance  in  con- 
nection with  the  communion  service,  but  in  the  absence  of  any 
directions  to  the  contrary  it  is  perhaps  fair  to  assume  that  such 
observance  is  taken  for  granted  in  the  Confessions  advocating 
the  general  custom.  Among  these  are  the  Dordrecht,  Olive 
Branch,  Prussian  (1678),  and  the  Old  Flemish  Confessions.  The 
Concept  of  Cologne  states  that  the  rite  shall  be  administered  when 
members  of  the  faith  request  it.  The  Jan  Cents  articles  recom- 
mend that  "when  our  fellow  believers  from  distant  places  come 
to  visit  us  we  wash  their  feet  according  as  opportunity  affords, 
after  the  custom  of  the  Old  Testament  and  the  example  of 
Christ."  The  Pieter  Jans  Twisck  Confession  of  thirty-three 
articles  advocates  the  same  form  of  the  practise.  The  Hans  de 
Ries  and  the  Cornelis  Ris  Confessions  make  no  reference  to  the 
ordinance  whatsoever. 

The  custom  was  not  common  in  America  among  the  German- 
town  and  Skippack  settlements  for  the  first  hundred  years.  It 
was  introduced  into  Lancaster  county  by  the  Amish  and  the 
Pequea  Mennonites  and  through  these  throughout  the  entire 
colonial  church.  The  practise  has  been  discarded  in  Europe  ex- 
cept among  the  Amish  and  perhaps  among  some  of  the  more 
conservative  Russians.  In  America  it  is  still  quite  widely  ob- 
served, being  a  cardinal  ordinance  among  the  Old  Mennonites, 
Amish  of  all  branches,  the  Illinois  Conference  of  Mennonites, 
Mennonite  Brethren  in  Christ,  Reformed  Mennonites,  Wisler 
Mennonites,  Bruedergemeinde,  Krimmer  Brueder,  Defenceless 
Mennonites,  and  a  number  of  individual  congregations  among  the 
Russians  in  the  General  Conference.  It  is  also  still  common 
among  a  number  of  sects  which  had  an  Anapabtist  or  later  Men- 
nonite origin,  such  as  the  Dunkards,  Primitive  Baptists,  Mora- 
vians (not  since  1818),  United  Brethren,  River  Brethren,  etc. 


326  THE  MENNONITES 

Among  the  Old  Mennonites  one  still  frequently  finds  among  the 
older  brethren  those  who  follow  to  the  letter  the  example  of 
Christ  when  he  arose  from  supper  "and  laid  aside  his  garments ; 
and  took  a  towel  and  girded  himself." 

One  of  the  most  fundamental  and  distinctive  Mennonite  doc- 
trines is  that  of  Non-resistance.  All  the  Confessions  condemn  un- 
qualifiedly the  taking  of  revenge  or  the  use  of  force  in  settling 
disputes  either  individually  or  collectively.  War  they  declare  to 
be  wrong,  and  the  Christian  has  no  part  in  it.  All  are  agreed, 
too,  that  the  Christian  cannot  be  a  magistrate.  The  early  Ana- 
baptist and  Mennonite  view  of  government  was  that  it  was  a 
divine  institution  ordained  of  God  to  punish  the  evil  and  protect 
the  good — a  sort  of  necessary  evil — and  that  it  was  the  duty  of 
the  Christian  to  pray  for  his  rulers  and  obey  them.  But  since 
government  was  essentially  worldly  the  Christian  could  take  no 
part  in  it. 

This  view  is  the  outgrowth  of  the  doctrine  of  non-resistance, 
which  based  upon  the  principle  of  love  as  a  ruling  force  in  human 
conduct,  and  upon  a  literal  interpretation  of  such  injunctions  as 
"Resist  not  evil,"  etc.,  regarded  all  use  of  force  as  wrong,  espe- 
cially if  used  to  the  bodily  injury  of  a  fellow  being  either  friend 
or  foe.  Undoubtedly  the  application  of  the  doctrine  to  govern- 
ment was  also  partly  due  to  the  fact  that  governments  were 
everywhere  using  their  power  to  suppress  religious  toleration. 
Although  this  function  of  government  has  greatly  changed  since 
the  early  days  both  in  Europe  and  America,  magistrates  must 
still  depend  upon  the  use  of  physical  force  to  maintain  social 
order.  In  Europe  the  old  views  have  been  almost  entirely 
discarded,  but  in  America  there  is  still  a  strong  sentiment  against 
the  holding  of  office  among  the  more  conservative  branches. 
The  Old  Mennonites  and  Amish  discourage  the  holding  of  office 
beyond  that  of  road  supervisor,  school  directors,  and  similar  local 
offices.  The  Reformed  Mennonites,  Wisler  Mennonites,  and  even 
some  of  the  more  liberal  groups  either  forbid  entirely  or  discour- 
age going  to  the  polls  to  vote  in  the  regular  elections.  In  spite  of 
these  restrictions,  however,  the  number  in  all  branches  who  ac- 


DOCTRINE  AND  PRACTISE  327 

cept  local,  town  and  county  positions  of  trust  is  increasing.  In 
recent  years  a  number  from  different  localities  have  been  elected 
to  state  legislatures  as  well  as  other  positions.  The  present  Con- 
gress contains  one  Mennonite  and  another  member  who  at  one 
time  had  been  of  that  faith.  Few  perhaps  would  accept  such  an 
office  as  that  of  sheriff  which  would  involve  the  enforcing  of 
the  death  penalty.  One  Mennonite  from  a  western  State  some 
time  ago  refused  the  nomination  for  governor  at  the  hands  of 
his  party  on  the  ground  that  if  elected  he  could  not  conscien- 
tiously enforce  capital  punishment.  There  is  a  strong  sentiment 
among  many  of  the  branches  against  making  use  of  the  law  in 
securing  justice  in  personal  disputes,  but  practically  all  permit 
the  use  of  legal  measures  in  defensive  action.  On  the  question  of 
war  also  the  official  leaders  of  all  the  branches  in  the  American 
church  remained  true  to  her  traditional  peace  principles  during 
the  recent  war. 

Church  discipline  was  maintained  among  the  Mennonites 
by  a  liberal  application  of  the  Ban.  Since  the  church  was  a  vol- 
untary organization  divinely  ordained,  and  composed  of  the  truly 
converted  it  must  be  kept  pure  by  excluding  all  those  who  proved 
themselves  unfaithful.  The  Ban  was  pronounced  upon  the  guilty 
through  the  elder  or  bishop  by  a  vote  of  the  congregation.  Dur- 
ing Menno's  lifetime  the  question  of  a  liberal  or  strict  application 
of  this  means  of  church  discipline  was  a  source  of  bitter  quarrel- 
ing. Menno  himself  favoring  the  strict  party,  maintained  that 
without  a  liberal  use  of  the  Ban  it  would  have  been  impossible 
in  his  day  to  keep  the  church  free  of  the  "corrupt  sects."  Closely 
associated  with  the  Ban  was  the  practise  of  "Avoidance"  or  shun- 
ning all  those  who  were  excommunicated.  This  question,  too, 
for  years  was  a  source  of  endless  bickering  and  countless  heart- 
aches, dividing  the  church  almost  from  the  beginning  into  loose 
and  strict  constructionist  parties  with  reference  to  the  practise. 
The  liberals  contended  that  the  Pauline  injunction  "not  to  eat" 
with  the  unfaithful  (I  Cor.  5:11),  referred  merely  to  the  com- 
munion table,  but  the  strict  party  insisted  upon  a  rigid  social 
and  business  ostracism.  The  faithful  were  not  to  eat,  drink, 
visit,  buy  from  nor  sell  to  one  excommunicated.     Some,  includ- 


328  THE  MENNONITES 

ing  Menno  himself,  would  even  apply  the  principle  to  all  family 
and  marriage  relations. 

The  reason  for  the  practise  according  to  the  Dordrecht  Con- 
fession was  "so  that  we  may  not  become  defiled  by  intercourse 
with  him — and  that  he  may  be  made  ashamed — and  thereby  in- 
duced to  amend  his  ways."  The  latter  reason  was  undoubtedly 
based  upon  a  correct  literal  quotation  of  Scripture,  but  upon 
rather  poor  psychology  as  well.  Although  none  of  the  Confes- 
sions, with  the  possible  exception  of  the  Old  Flemish,  specifi- 
cally mention  marital  avoidance,  it  is  perhaps  implied  in  the 
Confessions  advocating  the  strict  application  of  the  avoidance 
practise.  Among  these  are  the  Dordrecht,  Olive  Branch,  Jan 
Cents,  Pieter  Janz  Twisck,  and  the  Concept  of  Cologne  state- 
ments. All  warn  against  carrying  the  practise  too  far,  however. 
Cornells  Ris  on  the  other  hand  would  deny  the  excommunicated 
only  "spiritual  church  fellowship."  In  America  the  Reformed 
Mennonites,  Old  Order  Amish,  and  Old  Colonists  in  Manitoba 
still  "shun"  their  excommunicated  of  whom  they  usually  have 
a  large  number,  to  the  limit.  Wherever  the  practise  is  carried  to 
its  extreme  length  especially  in  closed  communities  where  there 
is  little  opportunity  for  social  or  economical  life  outside  of  the 
church  community,  and  especially  if  the  domestic  relations  are 
involved,  the  results  are- frequently  tragic.  Among  the  so-called 
"New  Amish"  in  central  Illinois,  who  undoubtedly  inherited  the 
practise  from  the  Mennonites  in  Switzerland  during  the  early 
part  of  the  past  century,  several  domestic  tragedies  have  oc- 
curred in  recent  years  one  of  which  ended  in  the  annihilation 
of  an  entire  family.  The  great  majority  of  Mennonites  in  both 
America  and  Europe  of  course  have  outgrown  this  doctrine. 

In  addition  to  the  above  enumerated  doctrines  the  church 
was  also  committed  to  a  number  of  practises  and  customs  which 
were  perhaps  more  or  less  common  to  other  denominations,  but 
since  discarded,  and  for  that  reason  not  matters  of  dispute  and 
not  included  in  the  Confessions. 

Among  these  was  the  so-called  Devotional  Covering.  It  was 
undoubtedly  a  common  custom  in  the  early  as  well  as  the  later 
Reformation  churches  for  women  to  appear  in  worship  with  their 


Group  of  Students  of  the  Old  Elkhart  Institute. 


DOCTRINE  AND  PRACTISE  329 

heads  covered.  Among  the  Mennonites,  however,  this  covering 
developed  in  course  of  time  into  something  distinct  from  the  ordi- 
nary headgear  worn  for  protection.  Among  the  Old  Mennonites, 
Amish  and  Reformed  Mennonites  and  several  other  small 
branches  of  the  denomination  this  covering,  still  worn  during 
worship,  consists  of  a  small  tightfitting  cap  made  of  a  white 
gauze  material.  In  Pennsylvania  among  these  branches  the 
women  are  required  to  wear  this  cap  at  all  times  and  on  all  occa- 
sions, not  only  at  times  of  worship.  Another  custom  inherited 
from  the  past  and  still  practised  among  the  above  mentioned  con- 
servative groups  as  well  as  several  others  is  the  Salutation  of  the 
Kiss,  practised  in  connection  with  the  feet-washing  service,  and  a 
common  method  of  greeting  among  ministers  and  church  leaders, 
and  also  made  a  part  of  every  religious  rite.  Other  questions 
which  in  recent  years  have  been  given  increasing  attention  by 
various  branches  of  the  denomination  are  Millennialism,  Sanc- 
tification,  Inspiration  of  the  Bible,  Higher  Criticism,  Adoption, 
Divine  Healing,  Anti-secrecy,  Life  Insurance,  etc. 

It  will  be  remembered  of  course  that  in  this  discussion  we 
are  dealing  with  the  past  history  of  the  Mennonites  as  well  as  the 
various  groups  of  the  present.  Many  of  the  above  practises  and 
customs  have  been  discarded  of  course  among  the  more  liberal 
elements  of  the  denomination,  and  especially  among  the  General 
Conference  congregations,  the  most  liberal  of  which  are  those 
in  Pennsylvania. 

In  the  field  of  Church  Government  Mennonites  were  the  orig- 
inal Congregationalists.  Each  congregation  was  an  independent 
unit.  Conferences  were  held  occasionally  to  settle  matters  of 
controversy,  but  they  had  no  power  to  legislate  for  the  entire 
church.  In  recent  years  annual  conferences  have  been  organized 
which  are  coming  to  assume  more  and  more  of  legislative  power. 
Ministers  according  to  the  various  Confessions  were  of  two 
ranks — elders  or  bishops,  and  deacons.  In  practise,  however, 
three  were  recognized — Elders  (Voellige  Diener),  with  power  to 
administer  the  sacraments  and  enforce  Church  discipline ;  Min- 
isters, mere  preachers  (Diener  zum  Buch)  ;  and  deacons  (Armen 


330  THE  MENNONITES 

Diener),  who  looked  after  the  poor  and  also  assisted  in  adjusting 
any  personal  disputes  that  might  arise  within  the  Congregation. 
Ministers  at  first  had  to  support  themselves.  It  was  not  until  far 
into  the  seventeenth  century  that  they  were  given  stated  salaries 
in  Holland,  and  northern  Germany.  In  South  Germany,  Switzer- 
land and  Russia  they  remained  unsupported  until  well  within 
recent  years.  An  unsupported  ministry  of  course  also  meant  an 
uneducated  ministry.  In  America  it  was  only  within  recent  times 
that  the  Eastern  and  Middle  Districts  of  the  General  Conference 
of  Mennonites  of  North  America  placed  their  ministry  upon  a 
salaried  basis.  The  Mennonite  Brethren  in  Christ  support  their 
ministers  but  not  always  with  a  specified  salary.  In  all  the  other 
branches  of  the  denomination  including  manv  of  the  Russian  con- 
gregations in  the  west,  the  work  of  the  ministry  is  still  a  work  oi 
love  with  a  few  material  rewards.  The  demand  for  trained  mis- 
sionaries and  ministers,  however,  is  everywhere  making  for  a 
regularly  supported  ministry  among  all  but  a  few  of  the  most 
ultra- conservative  branches.  At  present  several  different  types 
cf  church  polity  are  discernable.  The  Old  Mennonites  practise 
a  sort  of  primitive  episcopacy,  that  is  a  bishop  for  every  church. 
In  Lancaster  county,  however,  a  half  dozen  bishops  form  a  sort 
cf  Council  which  dominates  the  entire  church  in  that  large  set- 
tlement. In  the  General  Conference  the  term  bishop  is  not  used. 
The  government  is  strictly  congregational,  but  some  authorities 
in  the  church  note  a  tendency  toward  Presbyterianism.  The 
Mennonite  Brethren  in  Christ  follow  the  Methodists  in  a  semi- 
episcopal  church  polity. 

The  method  of  selection  under  the  old  system  was  by  lot, 
and  acceptance  was  compulsory  on  the  part  of  those  chosen. 
Such  a  call  was  conceived  of  as  coming  direct  from  God,  and 
could  not  be  set  aside.  Once  thus  called,  the  minister  carried 
his  office  with  him  wherever  he  went  and  had  a  divine  right  to 
preach  in  whatever  congregation  he  chose  to  make  his  home 
irrespective  of  their  own  wishes  in  the  matter.  His  call  came 
from  God,  not  men.  In  this  way  some  congregations,  especially 
among  the  early  immigrants  in  America,  frequently  became  over- 
supplied  with  spiritual  leadership.   The  Partridge  Amish  congre- 


DOCTRINE  AND  PRACTISE  331 

gation  in  central  Illinois  during  the  middle  of  the  last  century  was 
blessed  at  one  time  with  thirteen  ministers  four  of  whom  were 
bishops  all  of  equal  jurisdiction  by  virtue  of  their  residence.  No 
special  training  was  demanded,  in  fact  none  was  permitted.  The 
Holy  Spirit,  it  was  said,  would  guide  the  speaker's  tongue  when 
the  need  came  for  him  to  preach.  These  theories  and  practises 
were  common  among  even  the  most  liberal  of  the  Mennonites 
until  far  into  the  middle  of  the  last  century  and  still  prevail 
among  the  ultra-conservatives. 

Mennonites  have  always  lived  in  more  or  less  secluded 
groups,  and  were  endowed  with  a  strong  sense  of  "other  world- 
liness."  This  feeling  of  seclusion  was  due  to  several  causes.  In 
the  early  Anabaptist  days  they  were  driven  from  pillar  to  post 
by  unfriendly  state  and  church  authorities,  preventing  intercourse 
with  the  outside  world.  A  literal  interpretation  of  the  Scriptures 
emphasized  the  virtue  of  being  a  "peculiar  people."  Marriage 
with  outsiders  was  forbidden  under  penalty  of  excommunication. 
They  were,  too,  for  the  most  part  a  rural  people,  and  settled  in 
closed  communities.  In  America  many  of  these  were  made  up 
of  immigrant  groups  who  by  maintaining  their  own  language 
tended  to  perpetuate  their  isolation.  The  city  churches  of  Hol- 
land and  northern  Germany  were  the  first  to  escape  from  their 
extreme  provincialism,  but  in  other  parts  of  Europe  and  in 
America  where  the  churches  are  still  almost  entirely  in  the  coun- 
try Mennonites  retain  much  of  this  early  spirit.  This  conser- 
vatism has  perpetuated  many  antiquated  customs  especially  in 
styles  of  clothing,  among  several  branches  of  the  church.  The 
Old  Mennonites,  the  Amish,  Reformed  Mennonites,  Huterites, 
and  Old  Colonists  of  Manitoba  and  the  Wislerites  are  the  strict- 
est observers  of  bygone  styles  of  dress.  Most  of  these  require  the 
women  to  wear  bonnets  instead  of  hats,  and  recommend  that  the 
men  wear  the  so-called  collarless  plain  coat.  Stiff  hats  and  neck- 
ties are  not  in  good  standing.  The  Old  Order  Amish,  some  of 
them,  still  forbid  the  use  of  suspenders,  "store"  clothes,  starched 
shirts  and  other  modern  styles  of  dress.  Men  must  wear  long 
hair,  beards,  and  old  style  trousers.  Women  appear  in  bright, 
but  plain  clothes  with  capes  and  aprons.    The  dress  question  has 


332  THE  MENNONITES 

always  played  too  large  a  role  in  the  history  of  the  Mennonite 
church. 

The  American  Mennonites  imported  from  Europe  and  re- 
tained in  their  public  worship  and  daily  intercourse  some  form 
of  German  dialect.  The  early  Pennsylvanians  brought  with  them 
the  Swiss  and  South  German  dialects  which  have  since  developed 
into  the  Pennsylvania  Dutch.  The  Illinois  Amish  brought  the 
Alsatian,  and  the  Ohio  Swiss  at  the  same  time  the  Swiss  dialects. 
The  Russians  spoke  some  form  of  Low  German.  The  Russians 
and  the  Swiss  still  retain  the  German  in  most  of  their  worship, 
but  all  the  others  have  changed  to  the  English  during  the  past 
twenty-five  years.  The  maintenance  of  a  foreign  language  has 
been  a  strong  contributing  factor  in  keeping  up  Mennonite  prov- 
incialism during  the  past. 

Although  Mennonites  have  always  lived  a  simple  and  some- 
what secluded  life,  they  were  noted  for  their  liberal  endowment 
of  the  fundamental  virtues  of  life.  They  were  industrious,  sober, 
honest,  philanthropic,  law-abiding  and  religious.  Today  they  are 
everywhere  well-to-do  and  are  among  the  most  peaceful  and 
generally  prosperous  people  in  their  respective  communities. 


STATISTICS  333 


CHAPTER  XXII 

STATISTICS 

The  following  statistics  are  taken  from  various  sources,  and  are 
approximately  correct,  although  no  attempt  is  made  to  give  the  exact 
numbers  as  they  appear  in  the  various  official  statistics,  since  the 
official  lists  for  the  different  countries  are  not  all  for  the  same  year. 
In  Europe  it  will  be  noted  the  figures  include  the  entire  Mennonite 
population,  and  not  only  the  baptized  members  as  in  statistics  for  the 
United  States  and  Canada. 


Europe. 


(Entire  Pop-     (Baptized  Mem- 
ulation)  bers  Only) 


Netherlands    - 65,000 

Switzerland    „ 1 ,500 

Galicia    _ „.       590 

Germany    - : _ 20,000 

Russia    85,000 

France — Alsace-Lorraine   3,500 


175,090 
North  America. 

United  States  and  Canada. 

1.  The  Old  Mennonites  28,000 

2.  The  General  Conference  of  Mennonites  17,000 

3.  Amish   Mennonites  9,000 

4.  Old    Order   Amish    8,000 

5.  Mennonite   Brethren   in   Christ   7,500 

6.  Bruedergemeinde      6,700 

7.  Central   Conference   of  Mennonites  2,500 

8.  Church  of  God  in  Christ  1,500 

9.  Wisler  Mennonites  1,600 

10.  Conference  of  Defenceless  Mennonites  of  North  America  1,400 

11.  Amish    Mennonites    (Conservative)    1,250 


334  THE  MENNONITES 

12.  Reformed    Mennonites    1,200 

13.  Huterites    ~ 1,000 

14.  Krimmer    Mennonite    Brethren   .„ 1,000 

15.  Defenceless  Mennonites   ~ 900 

16.  Staufferites    „ „ _..„  200 

17.  Independent  Russian  Groups  in  Manitoba,  Saskatche- 
wan and  Alberta  „ „ 9,500 

98,250 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  335 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

In  the  following  bibliography  no  attempt  is  made  to  list  all  the 
books  in  the  field  of  Mennonite  history,  but  rather  to  cite  the  reader 
to  the  most  important  sources  and  books  on  the  subject  all  of  which 
are  available  in  the  various  Mennonite  libraries  in  this  country.  Among 
the  most  valuable  collections  of  Mennonite  books  in  America  are  the 
private  collections  of  N.  B.  Grubb  of  Philadelphia;  John  F.  Funk, 
Elkhart,  Indiana;  C.  H.  A.  van  der  Smissen,  Berne,  Indiana;  the  Col- 
lege Collections  at  Bethel,  Goshen  and  Bluffton;  the  library  of  the 
Mennonite  Historical  Commission  at  Scottdale,  Pa.;  and  that  of 
the  Mennonite  Historical  Society  of  the  General  Conference  in  charge 
of  H.  R.  Voth  of  Goltry,  Oklahoma;  Mennonite  books  in  the  Penn- 
sylvania State  Historical  Society  Library;  and  stray  books  in  other 
large  public  and  University  Libraries. 

Ausbund:   dast  ist,   Etliiche   schone   christliche   Lieder,   etc.    Eleventh 

Edition.     Elkhart,  Indiana,  1913. 
Abdruck    der    Gesammt-Protokolle    der    Kansas    und    Westlichen    Di- 

strikt-Konferenz  der  Mennoniten  von  Nordamerika.  1897, 

1909. 

Burkhard,  F.     Die  Basler  Taufer.     Basel,  1898. 

Bartch,    Franz.      Unser    Auszug    nach    Mittelasien.      Halbstadt,    1907. 

Beck,    J.     Die    Geschichte    der   Wiedertaufer    in    Oesterreich-Ungarn. 

Wien,  1883. 
Bundesbote-Kalender.      Berne,  Indiana,  1886 — . 
Brons,  Anna.     Ursprung,  Entwickelung  und  Schicksale  der  Altevan- 

gelische  Taufgesinnten  oder  Mennoniten.   Norden,  1891. 
Bax,  Belfort.     Rise  and  Fall  of  the  Anabaptists.     London,  1903. 
Bullinger,  Heinrich.     Der  Wiedertoufferen  Ursprung,  Fuergang,  Sek- 

ten,  etc.     Zurich,  1561. 
Barclay,  Robert.      The   Inner  Life   of  the   Religious  Societies  of  the 

Commonwealth.      Third    Edition.    London,    1879. 
Burrage,    Henry   S.      A   History   of   the   Anabaptists   in    Switzerland. 

Philadelphia,  1881. 

Cornelius,   C.  A.      Geschichte   des  Miinsterischen  Aufruhrs.     1885. 


336  THE  MENiNONITES 

Christlicher  Gemeinde-Kalender.  Herausgegeben  von  der  Konferenz 
der  siiddeutschen  Mennoniten.     1891 — . 

Cassel,  D.  K.      Geschichte  der  Mennoniten.     Philadelphia,  1890. 

Cate,  S.  Blaupot  ten.  Gesch.  der  Doopsgezinden  in  Friesland.  Leu- 
warden,  1839. 

Gesch.    der    Doopsgezinden    in    Groningen,    Overyssel 

en  Oost-Friesland.     Leuwarden,  1842. 

Gesch.  der  Doopsegezinden  in  Holland,  Zealand,  Utrecht 

en  Gelderland.     Amsterdam,   1847. 
Confessions  of  Faith. 

Dock,  Christopher.  Eine  einfaltige  und  griindlich  abgefaszte  Schul- 
ordnung.     Germantown,  Pa.,  1770. 

Diffenderfer,  F.  R.  The  German  Exodus  to  England  in  1709.  Lan- 
caster, Pa.,  1897. 

Dexter,  H.  M.  The  True  Story  of  John  Smythe,  the  Se-Baptist,  Bos- 
ton, 1881. 

Doopsgezinde  Bijdragen.  Ed.  Hartling,  Cool,  and  de  Scheffer.  Am- 
sterdam, 1861-1911. 

Egli,  Emil.      Die  Ziircher  Wiedertaufer.     Zurich,  1878. 

Akten-Sammlung  zur  Geschichte  der  Ziircher  Reforma- 
tion.    Zurich,  1878. 

Die  St.  Galler  Taufer. 

Epp,  D.  H.      Die  Chortitzer  Mennoniten.     Odessa,  1889. 

Ellenberger,  J.      Bilder  aus   dem   Pilgerleben.      1878-1883. 

Eshleman,  H.  Frank.  Historic  Background  and  Annals  of  the  Swiss 
and  German  Pennsylvania  Pioneer  Settlers  of  Southeast- 
ern Pennsylvania.     Lancaster,  Pa.,  1917. 

Erbkam,  H.  W.     Geschichte  der  Protestantischen  Sekten,  etc.     1848. 

Eby,  A.  Die  Ansiedlung  und  Begriindung  der  Gemeinschaft  in  Ka- 
nada.     Milford  Square,  Pa.,  1872. 

Friesen,  P.  M.     Die  Alt-evangelische  Mennonitische  Briiderschaft  in 

Russland  (1789-1910).     Halbstadt,  1911. 
Funk,  John  F.     The  Mennonite  Church  and  Her  Accusers.     Elkhart, 

Ind.,  1878. 
Family  Almanac.    Mennonite  Publishing  Company,  Elkhart,  Indiana, 

and  Mennonite  Publishing  House,  Scottdale,  Pa.,  1870 — . 
Fuesslin,  J.  C.     Beitrage  zur  Kirchengeschichte  des  Schweizerlandes. 

Zurich,   1741. 
Franck,  Sebastian.     Chronika,  1578. 

Gospel  Herald.    Scottdale,  Pa.,  1908—. 
Gospel  Witness.     Scottdale,  Pa.,  1905-1908. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  337 

Griffis,   W.   E.      Influence   of   the   Netherlands   Upon    England   and 
America. 

Grubb,   N.   B.     The   Mennonite    Church   of   Germantown.     Philadel- 
phia, 1906. 

Grubb,  W.  H.     The  Mennonites  of  Butler  County,  Ohio.     Trenton, 
Ohio,  1916. 

Hartzler   and    Kauffman.       Mennonite    Church    History.       Scottdale, 
Pa.,  1905. 

Hege,  Christian.     Die  Taufer  in  der  Kurpfalz.     Frankfort,  1908. 

Hege,  Christine.     Kurzgefazste   Geschichte  der  Mennoniten-Gemein- 
den.     Frankfort,  1908. 

Habegger,  Alfred.  The  Development  of  the  Missionary  Interest 
Among  the   Members  of  the   General   Conference.    1917. 

Horsch,  John.  Kurzgefaszte  Geschichte  der  Mennoniten-Gemeinden. 
Elkhart,  Ind.,  1890. 

Menno  Simons — His  Life,  Labors  and  Teachings.  Scott- 
dale, Pa.,  1916. 

Harder,  C.     Das  Leben  von  Menno  Simon,  Konigsberg,   1846. 

Hartzler,  J.  S.    Mennonites  and  the  World  War.    Scottdale,  Pa.,  1919. 

Herald  of  Truth.    Chicago  and  Elkhart.    1864-1908. 

Holdeman,  John.    History  of  the  Church  of  God.  Lancaster,  Pa.,  1876. 

Hunsicker,  Abraham.  Das  Religions-,  Kirchen-  und  Schulwesen  der 
Mennoniten.    Wimpfen,  Hesse,  1830. 

Heath,  Richard.  Anabaptism  from  Its  Rise  at  Zwickau  to  Its  Fall 
at  Muenster.     London,  1895. 

Isaac,  Franz.     Die  Molotschnaer  Mennoniten.     Halbstadt,  1908. 
Iutzi*  G,  and  Zook,  S.     Ermahnungen  von  G.  Iutzi,  etc.,  nebst  einem 

Anhang   iiber   die    Entstehung   der   Amischen    Gemeinde. 

Somerset  County,  1853. 

Jehrung,  J.  C.  Griindliche  Historie  von  denen  Begebenheiten,  Strei- 
tigkeiten  und  Trennungen,  so  unter  den  Taufgesinnten 
oder  Mennoniten,  etc.     Jena,  1720. 

Jansen,  Peter.     Autobiographical  Sketch,  in  Manuscript. 

Keller,  Ludwig.     Die  Geschichte  der  Wiedertaufer.     Leipzig,  1880. 
Hans  Denk,  ein  Apostel  der  Wiedertaufer.  Leipzig,  1882. 

Die  Reformation.     Leipzig,  1885. 

Die  Waldenser  und  die   deutschen   Bibelubersetzungen. 

Leipzig,   1886. 

Kaufman,  Edward  G.  Social  Problems  and  Opportunities  of  the 
Churches  of  the  Western  District  Conference.  1917. 
(Manuscript  in  the  Library  of  Bluffton  College.) 


338  THE  MENNONITES 

Krehbiel,  H.  P.    History  of  the  General  Conference  of  Mennonites  of 

North  America.     St.  Louis,  1898. 
Klaasen,    M.     Geschichte   der  Wehrlosen   Taufgesinnten    Gemeinden. 

Danzig,   1873. 
Kuehler,  W.  J.     Het  Socinianismus  in  Nederland.     Leiden,  1912. 

Kuhns,  Oscar.    The  German  and  Swiss  Settlements  of  Colonial  Penn- 
sylvania.    New  York,  1901. 
Kellog,  Major  W.  G.    The  Conscientious  Objector.    New  York,  1919. 

Loserth,  J.     Kommunismus  der  Mahrischen  Wiedertaufer.  Wien.  1894. 

Der  Anabaptismus  im  Tyrol.     Wien,  1892. 

Lohrenz,  J.  H.  History  of  the  Mennonite  Brethren  Church  of  North 
America,  1919.  (Manuscript  in  the  Library  of  Bluffton 
College.) 

Langenwalter,  J.  H.  Christ's  Headship  of  the  Church,  According  to 
Anabaptist  Leaders  Whose  Followers  Became  Mennon- 
ites, Berne,  Indiana,  1917. 

Mannhardt,   W.     Die   Wehrfreiheit   der   altpreuszischen    Mennoniten. 

Marienburg,  1863. 
Mueller,  Ernst.     Geschichte  der  Bern/is/chen  Taufer.     Frauenfeld,  1895. 

Mennonitisches  Lexicon.  Hege  und  Neff.  Frankfort  am  Main  und 
Weierhof,  1914—. 

Mennonite  Year  Book  and  Directory.     Scottdale,  Pa.,  1905 — . 

Mennonite  Year  Book  and  Almanac.     Quakertown,  Pa.,  1895 — . 

Mennonite,  The.     Berne,  Indiana,  1885 — . 

Mennonitische  Blatter.     Hamburg,  Germany,  1858 — . 

Mennonite  Periodicals:  Mennonitische  Rundschau,  Bundesbote,  Wahr- 
heitsfreund,  Mitarbeiter,  Heilsbote,  Zionsbote,  Zionspil- 
ger  und  Freie  Zeuge,  Der  Botschafter,  Friedenstimme, 
Gemeindeblatt,  Gospel  Herald,  Gospel  Witness,  Herold 
der  Wahrheit,  Christian  Evangel,  and  others  already 
mentioned  in  the  bibliography. 

Mueller,  J.  P.     Die  Mennoniten  in  Ostfriesland.     Emden,  1887. 

McGlothlin,  W.  J.     Die  Berner  Taufer.     Berlin,  1906. 

Musser,  Daniel.    The  Reformed  Mennonites,  etc.  Lancaster,  Pa.,  1873. 

Martin,  E.  K.     The  Mennonites.     Lancaster,  Pa.,  1883. 

Menno  Simons'   Complete  Works.     Elkhart   Edition,   1871. 

Martyrs'  Mirror.     T.  J.  van  Bracht.     Elkhart  Edition,  1887. 

Newman,  A.  H.     A  History  of  Antipedobaptism.     Philadelphia,   1897. 
Nitsche,  Richard.     Geschichte  der  Wiedertaufer  in  der  Schweiz,  1885. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  339 

Oberholtzer,  J.  H.  Verantwortung  und  Erlauterung.  Milford  Square, 
Pa.,  1860. 

Philip,  Dietrich.  Enchiridion  or  Handbook.  Translated  by  A.  B. 
Kolb,  Elkhart,  Ind.,  1910. 

Penny-packer,    Samuel   W.      Historical     and     Biographical     Sketches. 

Philadelphia,  Pa.,  1883. 
Pannabecker,  Floyd.     History  of  the  Mennonite   Brethren  in  Christ. 

1919.     (Manuscript  in  Library  of  Bluffton  College.) 
Pennsylvania  German  Society.     Proceedings.     Philadelphia.  Vol.  IX. 

Quack,  H.  P.  G.     Plockhoys  Social  Planen.     Amsterdam,  1892. 

Regier,  Peter.  Kurzgefaszte  Geschichte  der  Mennoniten-Briiderge- 
meinde.     Berne,  Indiana,  1901. 

Reiswitz  und  Wadzek.  Beitrage  zur  Kenntnis  der  Mennoniten-Ge- 
meinde.     Berlin,  1821. 

Rues,  S.  F.  Tegenwoordige  Staet  der  Doogsgezinden  of  Mennoniten 
in  de  Vereenigde  Nederlanden.     Amsterdam,  1745. 

Roosen,  B.  C.  Geschichte  der  Mennoniiten  Gemeinde  zu  Hamburg  und 
Altona.   Hamburg,   1886. 

Randt,  Erich.  Die  Mennoniten  in  Oestpreuszen  und  Litauen  bis  zum 
Jahre  1772.     Konigsberg,  1912. 

Roosen,  B.  C.    Menno  Simons.     Leipzig,  1848. 

Rembert,  K.    Die  Wiedertaufer  im  Herzogtum  Julich.    Miinster,  1893. 

Rupp,  I.  D.    History  of  Lancaster  County.    Lancaster,  Pa.,  1844. 

Schoen,   M.      Das    Mennonitentum    in   Westpreuszen.     Berlin,    1886. 

Schyn,  H.     Geschiedenis  der  Mennoniten  etc.     3  Bde.  1743-5. 

Smith,  C.  Henry.     The  Mennonites  of  America.     Goshen,  Ind.,  1909. 

Stark,  J.  A.    Geschichte  der  Taufe  und  Taufgesinnten.     Leipzig,  1789. 

Stuckey,  J.     Eine  Begebenheit  etc.     Elkhart,  Ind.,  1883. 

Seidensticker,  O.  Bilder  aus  der  Deutsch-Pennsylvanischen  Geschich- 
te.   New  York,  1886. 

Troyer,  David  A.  Ein  unparteiischer  Bericht  von  den  Hauptumstan- 
den,  welche  sich  ereigneten  in  den  sogenannten  Alt- 
Amischen  Gemeinden  in  Ohio  vom  Jahre  1850  bis  unge- 
fahr  1861,  wodurch  endlich  eine  vollkommene  Spaltung 
entstand. 

Van  der  Smissen,  C.  H.  A.  Geschichte  und  Glaubenslehre  der  Taufge- 
sinnten oder  Mennoniten.     Summerfield,  111.,  1895. 

Verhandlungen  der  Allgemeinen  Konferenz  der  Mennoniten  von 
Nord-Amerika.     Erste  bis  elfte  Sitzungen.     Berne,  Ind. 


340  THE  MENNONITES 

Vos,  K.     Menno  Simons,  1496-1561,  Leven,  Werken,  en  Reformator. 

Leiden,  1914. 
Vedder,  Henry  C.    Balthasar  Hubmeir.    New  York,  1905. 
A  Short  History  of  the  Baptists. 

Wayland,  J.  W.  The  German  Element  in  the  Shenandoah  Valley. 
Charlotte,  Va.,  1907. 

Wedel,  C.  H.  Abrisz  der  Geschichte  der  Mennoniten.  Newton,  Kan- 
sas, 1901-1904. 

Wappler,  P.  Die  Stellung  Kursachsens  und  des  Landgrafens  Philip 
von  Hessen  zur  Tauferbewegung.     Miinster,  1910. 

Wolkan,  R.     Die  Lieder  der  Wiedertaufer.     Berlin,  1903. 

Wick,  B.  L.  The  Amish  Mennonites.  A  Sketch  of  Their  Origin  and 
Settlement  in  Iowa.     Iowa  City,  la.,  1894. 

Zook,  Shem.     Eine  wahre  Darstellung  etc.     Mattawana,  Pa.,  1880. 

Zur  Linden,  Otto  F.  Melchior  Hoffman,  ein  Prophet  der  Wieder- 
taufer.    1885. 


DATE  DUE 

„*******& 

1 

mUggmtt, 

^ttMhMtoMMflT 

Mtt 

GAVLORD 

PRINTED  IN  U.S.A. 

§ 


If 


HhSB 

1— 

mm 


i'iiilillli 

mm 


ffiitl1 


illi 

<  fill      hi  , 

Mil 


'in 


li 


f 


lip 


■'mm 

■■■mm 

Mpttrtpiliffll 

1 


i 

if 


III 


mill 


li! 


BX8115  .S64 

The  Mennonites;  a  brief  history  of  their 

Princeton  Theological  Seminary-Speer  Library 


1    1012  00002  2733 


